Harry Potter, Fifth Year Headmaster
by flch1cks123
Summary: Before Fudge could make Umbridge the Headmistress during Harry's fifth year, the school woke up and activated the Founder's Charter. Now Harry is the Headmaster of a school that he hasn't even graduated from! What in Merlin's name is he going to do now?
1. Activating

**A/N:** This story started because of all of the things I was explaining about in my Adventures Made Known story. I came up with the idea of what if someone or something interfered before Fudge could appoint Umbridge as Headmistress of Hogwarts. They could make all sorts of changes that could be beneficial to the Light side and the ministry would be unable to do anything about it. I decided to see how Harry would do as a headmaster while still in fifth year. It would be somewhat like running the D.A. but on a much larger scale.

He would need help of course and more than just what Hermione and Ron could provide hence he creates two councils: one of students to give a first-hand point of view as to how the school is run and two, a group of adults that would help to make decisions regarding the impact on the rest of the wizarding world in general.

Please let me know what you think and leave me a review!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter and all others associated with him.

**Chapter 1 – Activating****  
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Harry was in shock. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He decided to ignore the rumbling going on around him as he tried to process everything that he had already been through that morning.

_**~~~Flashback~~~**_

Professor Umbridge had found out about the D.A. through Marietta Edgecombe, whose mother worked at the ministry in the Floo Regulations office. Apparently, Umbridge had either threatened her mom's job or Marietta believed in the ministry a little too much for Harry's comfort. Whatever the case, she had confessed that there had been a meeting of several students the night before- a group called Dumbledore's Army, or the D.A. for short. Hermione had sent a message through the coins at breakfast, scheduling a meeting for that very night, and Marietta had informed Umbridge right after breakfast the next morning.

They had seen her follow the Toad out of the Great Hall, but had hoped it was merely coincidence. They knew she was unhappy with going against the Ministry, but surely she wouldn't betray them? Things had been tense for the rest of the meal, but they wouldn't find out that they'd been turned in until half way through Transfiguration. It was Harry's first class of the day and Umbridge had gleefully burst into the classroom and demanded that Harry accompany her to the Headmaster's office.

When Harry, Umbridge and McGonagall, who had ended her class early and insisted on accompanying him as his Head of House, had gotten to the office, they had found it already full of people. Dumbledore had been sitting behind his desk with the usual twinkle in his eyes as Professor McGonagall had gone to stand stiffly beside him, lips pulled tight and her face extremely tense.

Harry had noticed Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, standing there with a smug look on his face, seemingly pleased with himself. Percy Weasley had hovered next to him looking excited as he held a quill and roll of parchment, ready to record everything that was said.

As Harry had stepped further into Dumbledore's office, he had noticed two additional figures stationed at each side of the entrance. He had recognized Kingsley Shacklebolt, a tall black auror whom he had met the previous summer, but had never seen the other man. Of average height but tough-looking, the wiry-haired man had a look on his face that said he was trying to contain his glee but was unable to.

Cornelius Fudge had turned to look at him, face lit with immense glee when he had noticed who was standing there.

"Well," he said. "Well, well, well…"

Although Harry had felt his heart pumping harder than normal, the clear-headedness that was usually only achieved during battle had descended on him.

"Well, Potter… I expect you know why you are here?"Fudge had questioned with triumph in his voice as though Harry's answer didn't matter in the slightest.

"No, I don't sir." Harry had said with as much innocence as he could muster in his voice.

"I beg your pardon?" Fudge had looked confused, as though Harry had misread his line in the play they were currently performing.

"No sir, I do not know why I am here." said Harry as he had tried to maintain a confused look on his face.

"You don't know why you are here?" Fudge had repeated.

"No, I don't." said Harry who had finally started to lose his patience. He had seen Dumbledore smiling at him out of the corner of his eye.

Fudge had looked incredulously from Harry to Professor Umbridge.

"So you have no idea," Fudge had said, in a voice that had been filled with sarcasm, "why Professor Umbridge has brought you to this office? You are not aware that you have broken any school rules?"

"School rules," Harry had said. "No."

"Or Ministry Decrees?" Fudge had amended angrily.

"Not that I'm aware of." Harry had said as blandly as he could.

Although his heart had still been beating hard enough that Harry thought it would be seen through his robes, it had almost worth lying to watch Fudge's blood pressure rising and his face change colors. The problem was that he could not see how he was going to get away with these lies. If Marietta had really tipped off Umbridge about the D.A. then Harry, as the leader, was as good as expelled.

"So, its news to you is it," Fudge had said, his voice thick with anger, "that an illegal student organization has been discovered within this school?"

"Someone is running an illegal organization in the school," Harry had said in pretend shock. "I hope you catch whoever is doing that Minister! Ministry Decree number twenty-four clearly states that students have to get any type of organization approved by Professor Umbridge first."

Harry had watched as Fudge had sat there with a red face, opening and closing his mouth. He couldn't believe he had the nerve to say that! Harry had noticed McGonagall's lips twitch as though trying to hold back a snicker.

"I think, Minister," Umbridge had interrupted from beside him with a sickly smile on her face, "we might be able to move things along if I fetch our informant."

"Excellent Delores," Fudge had said, nodding, as he shot Dumbledore a nasty smile. "Glad I thought of it. Go ahead and get the girl and bring her in here."

Harry had tried to contain his nervousness as he watched Umbridge leave the room. There was no way that his lies were going to stand up if Marietta had told what she knew.

"There's nothing like a good witness, is there, Dumbledore?" Fudge had said as he looked around the office triumphantly.

"Nothing at all, Cornelius," Dumbledore had commented serenely, as he had nodded his head.

After several minutes of waiting, Harry had heard the door open behind him. He had turned to look and had felt his heart sink as he had seen Umbridge forcefully tugging Cho's curly-haired friend Marietta, as she tried to hide her face in her hands, into the room.

Umbridge had spent a few minutes trying to get Marietta to look up from her hands before she had given up and turned back to the Minister.

"Marietta's mother, Minister," she had said, "is Madam Edgecombe from the Department of Magical Transportation, Floo Network office - she's been helping us police the Hogwarts fires, you know."

"Well jolly good!" Fudge had said heartily. "I'll have to send her a letter of thanks! Well, come on, now, dear, look up, don't be shy, and let's hear what you've got to - galloping gargoyles!"

As Marietta had raised her head, Fudge had leapt backwards in shock, and nearly tripped over the chair behind him.

He had stuttered as he had tried to right himself after nearly falling on his arse. Marietta had sobbed loudly as she had tried to cover her face again but not before everyone had seen the word SNEAK written in ugly purple blisters on her face.

Once again, Umbridge had tried to convince Marietta to tell Fudge what she had previously told her about the D.A.

"Oh, very well, you silly girl, I'll tell him," Umbridge had snapped. She had hitched her sickly smile back on to her face and said, "Well, Minister, Miss Edgecombe here came to my office shortly after breakfast this morning and told me she had something she wanted to tell me. She said that the news had just gone out that a meeting of an illegal organization was scheduled to meet this evening in a secret room on the seventh floor, sometimes known as the Room of Requirement. I tried to question her a little further but at that point this nasty little hex," she had waved impatiently at Marietta's concealed face, "came into operation and upon catching sight of her reflection the girl became too distressed to tell me anymore."

"Did she provide any more details Delores?" Fudge had asked as he had almost drooled at the information being provided.

"Unfortunately she didn't have time to Minister." Umbridge had said with a frown. "The hex erupted before she could tell me anymore than that. But I do have some additional evidence."

Fudge had looked disappointed but had nodded at her to continue.

"Minister, I am sure you remember that report I sent to about Potter meeting a number of fellow students in the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade-"

"And you can prove that this meeting took place Delores?" Professor McGonagall had cut in.

"Willy Widdershins, Minerva, happened to be in the bar at the time and told me what took place." Umbridge had said smugly.

"Oh, so that's why he wasn't prosecuted for setting up all those regurgitating toilets!" Professor McGonagall had said while she raised her eyebrows. "What an interesting insight into our justice system!"

Harry had noticed Fudge flushing but Umbridge had never even blinked.

"Potter's entire meeting with these students," Professor Umbridge had continued as if McGonagall had never said anything, "was to persuade them to join an illegal society, whose aim was to learn spells and curses the Ministry has deemed too dangerous for school-age -"

"I must protest, Dolores," Dumbledore had stated quietly, as the twinkle in his eyes finally seemed to have gone out.

Harry had stared at him. He could not see how Dumbledore was going to talk him out of this one; if Willy Widdershins had indeed heard every word he had said in the Hog's Head there was simply no escaping it.

"Oho!" Fudge had said, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet again. "So Willy Widdershins was lying, was he? Was it a polyjuiced death eater in the Hog's Head that day? Or is there the usual simple explanation involving a reversal of time, a dead man coming back to life and a couple of invisible Dementors?"

Percy Weasley had let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, very good, Minister, very good!"

Harry had glared at him and wanted nothing more than to hex the prat. But before he could pull his wand Harry had heard Dumbledore say in a calm voice "Cornelius, Harry does not deny that he was in the Hog's Head that day, nor that he was trying to convince the students there to form a study group for you must remember, Ministry Decree twenty-four was not put into effect until two days _after_ Harry's Hogsmeade meeting, so he was not breaking any rules at all that."

Percy and Fudge had stood there with their mouths hanging open.

"That's fine, Headmaster," Umbridge had said after she had recovered, "but it's been almost six months since Educational Decree Number Twenty-four was introduced and if the first meeting was not illegal, all those that have happened since most certainly are."

"They certainly would be," Dumbledore had said politely. "If they had continued after the Decree came into effect but I have yet to see any evidence that any such meetings took place."

As Dumbledore had finished speaking, Harry had heard Kingsley shifting slightly and the whisper of a spell being cast. He looked around but could not figure out what Kingsley had done.

"Evidence?" Umbridge had repeated, with that horrible wide toad-like smile. "Of course I have evidence! Why do you think Miss Edgecombe is here?"

"That's funny Delores," McGonagall had said with a frown. "I don't remember Miss Edgecombe mentioning six months' worth of meetings only that there had supposedly been one scheduled for tonight."

Umbridge had sent a nasty smile towards the professors before she turned towards Marietta. "Miss Edgecombe, I am going to ask some simple yes or no questions and you can nod or shake your head. Have these meetings been happening regularly over the last six months?"

To Harry's utter amazement, Marietta had shaken her head no.

"I think you may have not heard the question correctly," Umbridge had simpered in a sweet tone. "I'm asking whether you've been going to these meetings for the past six months."

Again, Marietta had shaken her head no.

"But there was a meeting tonight!" Umbridge had shouted furiously. "There was a meeting, Miss Edgecombe, you told me about it, in the Room of Requirement! And Potter was the leader, was he not? Potter organized it! _Why are you shaking your head no, girl?_"

Umbridge had grabbed Marietta and had begun shaking her but before anyone could open their mouths to protest, she had stopped as if realizing that it was futile.

Marietta had continued standing exactly where Umbridge had released her, still clutching her robe up to her oddly blank eyes and staring straight ahead of her.

A sudden suspicion, connected to Kingsley's whisper and the spell he had felt shoot past him, had sprung into Harry's mind. Had Kingsley modified Marietta's memories? Could he do that so quickly without anyone realizing what he done?

"Dolores," Fudge had said, with the air of trying to settle something once and for all, "the meeting tonight -"

"Yes," Umbridge had stated, pulling herself together, "yes… well, Miss Edgecombe tipped me off and I proceeded at once to the seventh floor, to look for anything they might have left in preparation for tonight's meeting. I have all their names here. We needed evidence and the room provided."

And to Harry's horror, she had withdrawn from her pocket the list of names that had been pinned upon the Room of Requirement's wall and had handed it to Fudge. "The moment I saw Potter's name on the list, I knew what we were dealing with," she had said softly.

Harry had quickly gathered his wits and protested.

"So Madame Umbridge," Harry had said with a small sneer on his face. "You are submitting evidence of this so-called meeting that came from a place called the Room of Requirement? A place where it provides anything you require as long as you ask for it? So I could go up to this room and ask for evidence that proves that Minister Fudge is really a goblin under glamours and it would provide it? It seems to me that your 'evidence' is pretty flimsy. You even said it yourself, 'you needed evidence and the room 'provided.'"

Umbridge had turned a mixture of ugly colors and had then settled into an angry red flush along with a paleness equaled to the color of old snow.

"Excellent," Fudge had crowed, as he seemed to have completely ignored what Harry had just said. "Merlin's Beard! See what they've named themselves? Dumbledore's Army."

Dumbledore had reached out and taken the piece of parchment from Fudge and gazed at the heading scribbled by Hermione months before. Then he had looked up smiling, the twinkle in his eyes in full force.

"Well," he had said simply. "It seems I have been caught, Cornelius. Would you like me to write out a statement about what I have done?"

Harry had been extremely confused and had noticed McGonagall and Kingsley looking at each other with fear in both of their faces. He had not understood what was going on, and nor, apparently, had Fudge.

"Statement?" said Fudge slowly. "What - I don't-?"

"Well it seems to me that the name says it all, Cornelius," Dumbledore, still smiling had said as he had waved the list of names before Fudge's face. "Not Potter's Army. _Dumbledore's Army_."

"But - but -" Fudge had stuttered in confusion.

Harry had watched as understanding blazed suddenly in Fudge's face. He had taken a horrified step backwards, yelped, and tripped over his chair.

"You?" he had whispered, struggling to right himself.

"That's right," Dumbledore had said pleasantly.

"You organized this… this army?" Fudge had said as the beginnings of anger had crossed his face.

"I did," said Dumbledore.

"Tonight was supposed to be the first meeting," Dumbledore had said as he nodded. "Merely to see whether they would be interested in joining me. I see now that it was a mistake to invite Miss Edgecombe, of course."

Marietta had nodded with her eyes still glazed over. Fudge had looked from her to Dumbledore, as his chest swelled.

"Then you _have_ been plotting against me!" he had yelled.

"That's right," Dumbledore had said cheerfully.

"NO!" Harry had shouted as he ignored the looks of warning that he received from both Kingsley and McGonagall, but it had suddenly dawned on Harry what Dumbledore was about to do, and he could not let it happen. "No — Professor Dumbledore!"

"Be quiet, Harry, or I am afraid you will have to leave my office," Dumbledore had stated calmly.

"Yes, shut up, Potter!" Fudge had barked, as he ogled Dumbledore with a kind of horrified delight. "Well, well, well - I came here tonight expecting to expel Potter and instead -"

"Instead you get to arrest me," Dumbledore had said, smiling. "It's like losing a Knut and finding a Galleon, isn't it?"

"Weasley!" Fudge had cried, positively quivering with delight, "Weasley, have you written it all down, everything he's said, his confession, have you got it?"

"Yes, sir, I think so, sir!" Percy had called eagerly; he hadn't looked up from his note-taking since the beginning.

"Very well, then," Fudge had crowed, now radiant with glee, "Duplicate your notes, Weasley, so we can send a copy to the Daily Prophet at once. If we send a fast owl we should make the morning edition!"

Fudge had then turned back to Dumbledore. "You will now be escorted back to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged, then sent to Azkaban to await trial!"

"Ah," Dumbledore had said gently, "yes. Yes, I thought you might be thinking that."

"What?" Fudge had said, his voice still vibrating with joy. "Thinking what, Dumbledore?"

"Well - it's just that you seem to be laboring under the delusion that I am going to - what is the phrase? - come quietly. I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course - but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing." Dumbledore had stated this in such a calm manner that it took everybody in the office a few seconds to process what he had actually said.

Umbridge's face had been growing steadily redder while Fudge had stared at Dumbledore with a very silly expression on his face, as though he had just been stunned by a sudden blow and could not quite believe it had happened. He had made a small choking noise, and then had looked at Kingsley and the man with short grey hair, who, of everyone in the room had remained entirely silent so far. The latter had given Fudge a reassuring nod and moved forwards a little, away from the wall. Harry had seen his hand drift, almost casually, towards his pocket.

"Don't be silly, Dawlish," Dumbledore had said kindly. "I'm sure you are an excellent Auror - I seem to remember that you achieved 'Outstanding' in all your NEWT s — but if you attempt to — er — bring me in by force, I will have to stop you."

The man called Dawlish had blinked rather foolishly. He had then looked towards Fudge again, but this time seemed to be hoping for a clue as to what to do next.

"So," sneered Fudge, "you think you can take on everybody in this room, do you?"

"Merlin's beard, no," said Dumbledore, smiling, "not unless you are foolish enough to force me to."

"I've had enough!" said Fudge, pulling out his own wand. "Aurors! _Take him!_"

A streak of silver light flashed around the room; there was a bang like a gunshot and the floor trembled; a hand grabbed the scruff of Harry's neck and forced him down on the floor as a second silver flash went off; several of the portraits yelled, Fawkes screeched and a cloud of dust filled the air. Coughing in the dust, Harry saw a dark figure fall to the ground with a crash in front of him; there was a shriek and a thud and somebody cried, "No!" then there was the sound of breaking glass, frantically scuffling footsteps, a groan… and silence.

Harry tried to discover just who had tackled him but was unable to turn around. Finally, after a few minutes he was released and he scrambled to his feet. He saw Professor McGonagall still crouched down on the floor; she had forced both him and Marietta out of harm's way. Panting slightly, Harry saw a very tall figure moving towards them through the dust that was still lingering in the air.

"Are you all right?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes!" said Professor McGonagall, getting up and dragging Marietta with her.

As the dust cleared the wreckage of the office became noticeable. All of the furniture had been overturned, there were books and little silver instruments scattered all over the floor. Everybody from the ministry was still unconscious on the floor. Fawkes the phoenix soared in wide circles above them, singing softly.

"Unfortunately, I had to hex everybody or it would have looked very suspicious," said Dumbledore in a low voice. "Thankfully, Kingsley was quick to figure out what I was trying to communicate. He modified Miss Edgecombe's memory while everyone was looking the other way - thank him, for me, won't you, Minerva?

"Now, they will all awake very soon and I must be gone by then. You two must act as though they were merely knocked to the ground, they will not remember -"

"Where will you go, Dumbledore?" whispered Professor McGonagall. "Grimmauld Place?"

"Oh no," said Dumbledore, with a grim smile, "I am not leaving to go into hiding. I have quite a few plans to put into motion."

"Professor Dumbledore…" Harry began.

He did not know what to say. How sorry that Dumbledore was leaving to save him from expulsion or that he had been caught in the first place and caused all this trouble. But Dumbledore cut him off before he could say another word.

"Listen to me, Harry," he said urgently. "You must do what you can to get the school ready for what is coming. I realize that you don't understand now but you must promise me -" The man called Dawlish was stirring. Dumbledore seized Harry's wrist.

"Remember – do what you can."

Fawkes circled the office and swooped down allowing Dumbledore to grab the phoenix's long golden tail. There was a flash of fire and the pair of them were gone.

"Where is he?" yelled Fudge, pushing himself up from the floor. "_Where is he?"_

"I don't know!" shouted Kingsley, also leaping to his feet.

"Well, he has to be here somewhere!" cried Umbridge. "Even the Headmaster is not allowed to Apparate from school grounds"

"The stairs!" cried Dawlish. Umbridge, Shacklebolt and Dawlish all flung themselves out the door in what they thought was pursuit of the former Headmaster.

The people left in the office clamored to their feet, brushing dust from the front of their robes. There was a long and painful silence as everyone tried to gather their thoughts.

Fudge seemed to ignore Harry and the professor as he looked around at what was left of the wrecked office. A few of the portraits hissed at him; one or two even made rude hand gestures.

Harry was still trying to recover his wits over what had just taken place when Fudge decided to speak again.  
>He turned to Professor McGonagall and said with a sneer, "Well it seems to me that a new Head needs to be found and appointed. I have the perfect person in mind. She already holds the second highest position at Hogwarts and would make an excellent Headmistress."<p>

However, before he could actually say Professor Umbridge's name, he was interrupted by a rumbling sound.

"What is that," Fudge called in mild panic. "What is Dumbledore doing now?"

"I seriously doubt that Professor Dumbledore is responsible for this," said Professor McGonagall with scorn in her voice. "He is too busy escaping to do this sort of thing! Also, what possible reason could he have for doing it?"

Harry, still sitting in his chair, grabbed on to the hand rests as the rumbling got a little stronger. What was going on? Was Dumbledore doing this?

Umbridge, Shacklebolt, and Dawlish all rushed back into the room.

"Minister Fudge," called Dawlish. "Dumbledore got away and we have no idea which way he went or how!"

"Never mind that now," barked Fudge. "What is causing this shaking? Has Dumbledore done something to set this off?"

"I don't think it could be Dumbledore, sir," said Shacklebolt calmly. "I believe he used his phoenix to flash out of here; it would explain why we weren't able to find him out in the corridors. I don't think he would have had enough warning to do something on this scale, and no reason to have set in up in advance."

While Kingsley had been speaking, the rumbling had been getting progressively worse. By the time he finished, everybody in Dumbledore's office had to sit down and grab on to something before they fell down. Harry was strongly reminded of his experiences with the Knight Bus.

"It seems we will just have to wait it out!" called Shacklebolt to angry glares from Fudge and Umbridge. Professor McGonagall, on the other hand, couldn't have looked more pleased. Harry was merely trying to stay in his seat.

_**~~~Flashback End~~~**__**  
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Harry did not want to think about what was going to happen once this rumbling stopped. Were the aurors going to be able to find Professor Dumbledore? Was he still being arrested? Who was going to take Dumbledore's place? Will he ever be back? What were they going to do without Dumbledore around?

Harry groaned quietly in frustration and the beginnings of panic. He hoped that this rumbling thing would be over soon. He needed to talk to Professor McGonagall and then find Ron and Hermione to tell them what had happened. That is, if he wasn't on his way to Azkaban.

Meanwhile, down in the very bowels of the school something was waking up. In a chamber that hadn't been seen since the four founders had built it, a huge diamond rested. This diamond was glowing with white light interspersed with streaks of red, yellow, green, and blue that seemed to gradually fill the room. Somehow, the light seemed heavier than it should be. Every bit of the air that the light touched began to give off a glow of its own, and it moved from the diamond like a fog, slowly filling the room. As the light in the room grew brighter, the shaking became stronger and the rumbling became deafening. After a few minutes of this, the room was filled with the strange fog, and brighter than the noonday sun.

"What has awoken me?" called a soft, female voice from the direction of the diamond, reverberating from the walls until what should have been soft was as loud as a normal human shouting at the top of their lungs. The being's subsequent inspection of the room revealed nothing that might have awoken her from close to a thousand years of slumber.

"Well," the being murmured, "If my room is still undiscovered, then my awakening was the result of circumstance."

Some of the light in the very middle of the room seemed to coalesce back into the diamond, but most of it entered the walls, before rushing through the school in an inspection of the entire building; really, it was an inspection of its own body. Meanwhile, the voice was cataloguing both the things that had changed and the things that had stayed the same. She was pleased that she was still a school, since that was the purpose for which she had been built. She disliked the rivalry that often drifted into unprovoked and unreasonable hatred between the houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin, but knew that this was not the reason for her awakening. After all, she suddenly realized with distaste, it had been going on for a very long time. She was surprised and saddened to see that many of the classes established by her creators had disappeared, though she could not fathom why they were gone.

She consulted the portraits, spoke to the ghosts, and even asked the house elves, but none of them knew what might have awoken her. Finally, fingers of light reached the walls of the Headmaster's office, where she found a problem severe enough, in conjunction with the other issues, to warrant her present state of consciousness.

She asked the portraits what was happening and they quickly told her of the events of the last few minutes, along with the identities of those who were in the office. When she learned of the minister's plan for the currently vacant Head position, she got angry. In her anger, the shaking got stronger and the noise got louder. Luckily for Hogwarts' residence, Lady Hogwarts was a very patient castle; she quickly calmed down after the spike of anger and indignation. She knew it was time to act.

First, she addressed the Sorting Hat. She needed a way to speak with the others in the office, and found the Sorting Hat to be the most practical solution. _"Alistair, prepare yourself. I am going to speak through you to the people in the Head's office; it's time for a change."_

'_Of course, my Lady. I would be pleased to serve. And allow me to welcome you back.'_ thought Alistair the Sorting Hat.

Meanwhile, in the Head's office, Harry and the others were trying to recover from the sudden cessation of rumbling and figure out what had just happened. However, before anybody could open there mouth, the Sorting Hat started to speak. His voice was overlaid with a female voice that somehow sounded rough, something quite unusual in the voice of a woman. What was even stranger than the Sorting Hat suddenly sounding like a woman, was the fact that the voice echoed softly around them, seeming to come from the walls themselves.

"I am Lady Hogwarts. Alistair has generously allowed me to use his voice to speak to you," said the Sorting Hat in a soft voice.

"Wh… what," stuttered Fudge. "That's impossible! The castle's not alive, so it can't possibly talk!"

"I assure you it is entirely possible," said Alistair in his normal voice. "It really is the school given voice."

"Minister," simpered Umbridge in a saccharine sweet voice. "I think it likely that Mr. Potter, with the help of Dumbledore, set this up. First, Dumbledore started the shaking to disorient us, so that we would believe whatever 'Lady Hogwarts' said when Mr. Potter activated the second part of their plan."

Professor McGonagall, who seemed to have recovered somewhat from the shock of hearing Hogwarts speak, replied, "So Delores, you believe that Mr. Potter is smart enough and powerful enough to get around more than a thousand years of enchantments to affect what the Sorting Hat says? I didn't realize you had such a high opinion of his abilities." Her tone made it clear that she thought the whole thing was utterly ridiculous, though she was also delighted that she was able to turn Delores' paranoid conspiracy theories into a compliment for Mr. Potter.

"If you need proof, you shall have it. My walls remember every sentence whispered in privacy, every action done when you were alone," commented Hogwarts before they could continue their argument. "Cornelius Fudge. In your third year, you were involved in a bit of a mess that took place in an abandoned classroom on the seventh floor. No one ever found out about. I could recite word for word what you said at the time while in that classroom, if you would like me to prove myself."

"That… That won't be necessary Lady Hogwarts!" barked Fudge with a pale face at the thought of that story getting out.

"But surely Minister, you don't believe that this is really the school talking? It's just a building! Castles can't talk. It has to be Potter!" Umbridge said with a frown on her face.

"Well, this one can. There is no other way that anybody could know about what happened my third year, let alone a fifteen year old boy Delores." snapped Fudge.

"Well," sniffed Umbridge as she turned to Harry, "You may have the minister convinced of this foolish joke but I do not believe that it is really Hogwarts speaking."

"You don't? I see it's time for more proof," said the Hogwarts, amused. "Would you like these people to learn why you are so against those you call half-breeds?"

"What! That's impossible," stuttered Umbridge. "That event didn't even take place at the school! There is no way for you to know about that!"

"No, I didn't witness the event," admitted Hogwarts. "However, when you came back to school, you cried about it every night for a month. Whenever your dorm room was empty, you told your cat about the injustice of it all. When the room wasn't empty, you wrote about it in your diary. Between the cat and your diary, I know exactly what happened, or at least what you _think_ happened. I heard everything you said and saw everything you wrote. There are no secrets kept from Hogwarts within her walls."

Umbridge had paled to the color of spoiled milk and collapsed back into a chair. She decided that even if the voice wasn't Hogwarts, she didn't want there to be any chance of that information getting out. It would ruin her if the wrong people found out about it.

"Does everyone have sufficient proof that I am Hogwarts?" she asked. There were nods around the room, so she happily continued. "Good! Then let's proceed to the topic at hand, shall we? I am here to inform you that I am activating the Founder's Charter, to be carried out immediately."

"The Founder's Charter?" Harry finally gave up on trying to stop himself from asking questions. "What's that?"

"Nobody knows," McGonagall replied. "There have been rumors, but nothing more. In fact, most believe it to be a myth."

"Well, I'll be happy to put those rumors to rest," replied Hogwarts. "I was there when it was created, so I'm in an excellent position to tell you all about it. The founders, after they finished building me, decided that they wanted a plan in place to keep anyone from forcibly taking over the school. This included government interference. To prevent something like this from happening, they made me sentient and set up the Charter. If something happened that put the school in danger of betraying the principles that it was built on, the castle would wake and, using the sentience I had developed, assess the situation and decide on a course of action. The first few minutes are spent spreading throughout the walls, regaining complete and conscious control of myself. If it was a physical assault that had awoken me, then I would assist in defending the staff and students against their attackers."

"The Charter is also in place in case of a more political assault. If the Headmaster was not upholding his duties, or working to the detriment of his students, that might awaken me. If, say, the government was trying to interfere in the running of the school by putting one of its employees in the position of Headmaster or Headmistress, it's likely that that would also awaken me."

Minister Fudge and his Toady both wilted under the glare of the Hat. The aforementioned hat nodded in satisfaction and continued. "The Charter allows me to appoint a new headmaster if the current one is unsatisfactory, or if there is no headmaster and the school is in a state of chaos. The Founders expected the latter case to be brought about by conflict in deciding who the next headmaster should be; they would have been appalled to find the school already in a state of chaos, despite the students' ignorance of the current situation." Umbridge looked vindicated.

"You see, Minister? Even Hogwarts says that Dumbledore has sent the school into chaos!"

"When did I ever say that?" Lady Hogwarts mildly inquired. "What I said was that the school was in chaos and without a Headmaster. The chaos in this school has been building for centuries, but it's only become really apparent in the last few decades. A 'Hogwarts' Board of Governors'? What a joke! What a disgrace that mighty Hogwarts has been subjected to the corruption and political maneuvering of the rich and vocal minority, while the unconnected majority are kept silent! The Houses are divided, dozens of classes have been cancelled, and by the Ministry, no less! Bigotry is rampant, and the teachers do nothing to correct this! Some of them even encourage it! Most of them simply ignore it, feeling they can't change it because this is the way it's always been. No, this has been coming for a long time; the Minister's plan to appoint a Ministry employee as the Head of the school was simply the final blasting hex cast against a crumbling wall."

The office's occupants stared at that hat, moved to shock, awe, and horror in turn by the castle's impassioned speech.

"It's time for Hogwarts to do some cleaning up," the Lady concluded, "And I'm starting with you, Delores. You are henceforth banned from the castle. You will never teach here again, nor hold any position of authority over the inhabitants of Hogwarts. You have thirty minutes to pack your belongings and depart from the grounds before you are forcefully ejected."

Harry was almost impressed that Umbridge didn't immediately comply, before he realized that it was stupidity, not bravery, that kept her from instantaneously bowing to the castle's will. Instead, Umbridge flushed to the color of beets and started ranting. "You can't do this! I am going to become Headmistress and run this school according to Ministry guidelines! Minister, tell her she can't do this!"

Fudge looked like he had swallowed Dragon dung. "Unfortunately she can, Delores. Hogwarts was established before the Ministry; it's actually considered its own country, and the Ministry is not allowed to have any access to it without the express permission of the Headmaster. Later, the ability to grant permission was extended to the Board of Governors, but it appears that both that ability and our permission have been permanently rescinded."

Umbridge looked like she couldn't understand what he was saying. Cornelius was the Minister of Magic! He should be able to change this! It was like her world had fallen out from under her.

"Twenty-seven minutes and counting, Delores. I'd get packing, if I were you," Hogwarts reminded her, with amusement clear in her voice. Two suits of armor entered the room. Umbridge looked at them in confusion before Hogwarts said, "These two will escort you to your rooms. When the thirty minutes is up, they will drag you to the gate. I wouldn't count on them being gentle."

Umbridge was scared out of her mind, and scuttled out of the Head's office to go pack her things while the two suits of armor clanked after her. She would research this 'Charter' and the laws that governed Hogwarts. It was the Ministry's right to rule Hogwarts, and the Minister wanted _her_ to be its Headmistress! It was her rightful position and she was not going to let it go without a fight!

Fudge, looking extremely uncomfortable, asked the school who the next Head was going to be.

"I have someone in mind, Minister, but I won't be telling anyone who it is until I've discussed it with them," said the school. "However, I will have the new Head send you a letter within the week, as a matter of courtesy. Now it's time for you and your employees to leave. Please, be so kind as to do so promptly."

Fudge waddled out the door in a hurry, not wanting to test the school's patience or temper. He had forgotten all about Dumbledore and what had happened before this disaster with the Founder's Charter and Hogwarts waking up. Auror Dawlish followed him in a rush while Percy Weasley was trying to figure out why the school would be so against the ministry being in charge. Kingsley held back a little to glance at Professor McGonagall in worry.

"Do not worry, Auror Shacklebolt," said the school in a much calmer tone. "I am aware that you are not among the corrupt Ministry officials trying to control that which is not yours to control."

"Thank you Madame Hogwarts," Kingsley breathed a sigh of relief. "That greatly relieves my mind."

"You are doing good things with your life, Kingsley," said Hogwarts. "I am proud of the way you have used the education you gained within these walls."

Kingsley bowed slightly, accepting the praise, before abruptly striding out the door to catch up with Fudge and his cronies.

"Madame Hogwarts," asked Professor McGonagall, "Do you mind if I ask who is going to be the next head of the school?" She didn't want to make the school mad at her, but as Deputy Headmistress she needed to know.

"I have already chosen someone, Minerva," said the school replied. "But it will not be you or any of the other teachers. The Charter requires that I choose from among Hogwarts' inhabitants, but did not place any limitations on the age of that person."

"Do you mind if I ask why it won't be one of the teachers?" questioned Professor McGonagall in surprise.

"Of course you may ask, Minerva," said the school in her usual calm and mild voice. "I didn't choose from among the professors because I felt that you were too stuck in your ways. The school needs someone innovative and willing to make changes when necessary. The school has drifted from where it was and where it should be; the current teachers are all too rigid to make any drastic changes and, unfortunately, those are the sorts of changes we'll need."

Professor McGonagall had a contemplative look on her face. While she was worried about the possibility of a student taking on the duties of Headmaster (or Headmistress) she could understand the decision. None of the current employees of Hogwarts would be able, or really even willing, to make big changes in the school. Even those willing to try would likely find the enormous undertaking too big for them and, in a fit of hopelessness, return to the all too easy rationalization that the current system had been working for years, so there was no need to change it. The ones who were willing weren't able, and the ones who were able weren't willing. It would be difficult, but perhaps a student was just what they needed to lead the school to a better era.

"Minerva," the school called, bringing her out of her thoughts. "I need you to make a school-wide announcement that classes are cancelled for the rest of the week. Please do not mention what has occurred in this office. After that, summon all of the Professors to an emergency staff meeting in the teacher's lounge. Tell them all that has happened, and make sure Professor Snape knows that his next report to Tom Riddle should only contain information that the classes have been cancelled. He should also say that Professors Umbridge and Dumbledore have disappeared, but that he doesn't know how, where, or why."

"Very well Madame Hogwarts," McGonagall straightened herself up. "Is there anything else you need me to do? When will you be informing the staff members that a new Headmaster or Headmistress has been chosen?"

"I don't need anything else from you at the moment, but thank you for your offer of assistance," Hogwarts said. "And it's really up to the Head when the staff members are to be informed, but I imagine it will be within a day or so."

Professor McGonagall nodded her head firmly and marched out the door on her way to her office; she could make the announcement from there. Harry, who had been sitting in a corner up to this point, was forgotten in all the excitement.

Nevertheless, Harry got up from his seat to follow Professor McGonagall from the office. He was surprised and confused when Lady Hogwarts interrupted his progress by asking him to remain seated.

Harry followed the school's directions and looked at the Sorting Hat expectantly. "Yes ma'am?"

"Mr. Potter," began the school. She paused, then continued more warmly, "Do you mind if I call you Harry?"

"Of course you can, Lady Hogwarts!" said Harry. He smiled at the obvious affection in her voice.

"Very well then," continued the school, sounding slightly more serious. Obviously it was time to get down to business. "I'd like to go over the Charter in slightly more detail with you; in particular, why I have activated it."

Harry looked relieved. He had been in a bit of a daze and hadn't understood most of the first explanation.

Hogwarts began to explain again, but this time she added a little more information to what she had said before. "As you know, the Founders came together over the idea of building a school to teach magic. This was completely unheard of at the time- a revolutionary idea. Magic-users relied entirely on apprenticeships, all of which were highly specialized. The most common was Potions, as that was considered more useful; it was also easier to hide from muggles, if you wished to do so. The idea of learning more than one subject- of learning _all_ the subjects- was extraordinary. It just didn't occur to people that you could learn Charms _and_ Transfiguration, let alone Potions. It was also exceedingly difficult for muggleborns to get apprenticeships; their parents had neither the means nor the connections to educate their children."

"The Founders wanted to fix these problems. They wanted everyone to have the opportunity to learn magic, and they wanted everyone to have a well-rounded education. They were so excited about it! They found and purchased the land, designed the school and proceeded to build it to their exact specifications. They turned it into a place where students could live and grow to enjoy learning. They hired the best Masters of every subject they could find, and set out in search of students."

"They were disappointed. Unfortunately, new ideas don't always catch on quickly. The muggleborns came; that, at least, was a success. Those born into magical families, however, laughed at the idea. They thought it impossible to learn so many things- that if you tried to learn more than one thing, you would learn them both shabbily, or not at all. It was a commonly held theory that one's magic would attune to the first type of magic you tried, and that it would be the only type you could perform thereafter."

"If it hadn't been for Helga's patience and consistent hard work, it is likely that the school would have failed. As it is, it took over thirty years for the purebloods to admit that there might be benefits to having a well-rounded education. Once that happened, however, school enrollment rose rapidly. The Founders were thrilled at their success. They knew that once the idea had taken hold, it would stay in place. At that point, they started looking to the future."

Harry was fascinated. He had never heard any of this before and it was interesting to hear it from "someone" who had existed back then. He frowned; surely Binns should have been covering something of this. Even if it was wildly inaccurate, he should have had a jumping off point. Harry hadn't even known about apprenticeships!

"The Founders all knew something of human nature, though Salazar was, perhaps, the shrewdest of them in this respect. They knew that, at some point, someone would try to gain control of the school for the power it represented. With control of the children it would be easy to gain control of the parents as well; if nothing else, you could easily educate the next generation to take on your ideology as their own. They had to make sure that Hogwarts remained a school, free from the political machinations that humans are so fond of. They did everything they could to make Hogwarts completely independent of every governing body that ever did or would exist. As the leading minds of their generation, that was quite a lot. Add to that the ley lines Hogwarts rested on top of, and they knew that they would have the power to do anything they might need to do."

"They eventually came up with the idea of making the castle sentient. They all had their areas of expertise, and they all contributed equally. They made a room, almost impossible to access, where the spell would originate. The walls of the room were covered in runes, and the room itself lay in the intersection of several ley lines. A diamond, as large and pure as they could find, would help to focus and control the spell, as well as adding another element to the anchor. The main problem was in starting the spell. After starting the spell, it could power itself from the ley lines, but getting the spell started would cost all of the magical energy and life-force they had between them."

"Wait a second," Harry interrupted, "I thought Slytherin ended up hating the school and the other founders because they allowed muggleborns to be taught there? Why would he give up his life and magic to power a spell to keep it safe?"

"No, Harry," said the school patiently. "Salazar did not hate muggleborns, and he certainly didn't hate the other Founders. That misconception came about because he felt that they should learn how to read, write, and practice basic hygiene before being brought to Hogwarts. He never left the school, and, while he fought with Godric all the time, they always made up; they were the best of friends and considered themselves brothers in everything but name. Something similar to that did happen, unfortunately; however, the two who got into that fight were their great grandchildren, and it had nothing to do with letting muggleborns into the school. That prejudice barely existed then, in part because the Statute of Secrecy had not yet come into effect."

"But the history books all say that Salazar Slytherin would only take purebloods into his house!" exclaimed Harry in shock. This was the basis of the entire Gryffindor/Slytherin feud, and she was telling him that it never happened!

"The history books are inaccurate," said the school exasperatedly. "Or rather, they were mistranslated. Slytherin wanted the pure of heart in his house, as he felt that the cunning and ambition he prized could easily lead people to the Dark Arts if they were not also pure of heart. Salazar truly had no prejudice against muggleborns. Unfortunately, somewhere later on down the line in history, this was mistranslated as pure of blood leading to the misconception that Salazar wanted only 'pure-bloods.'"

Harry was in shock again. Slytherin had gotten a bad reputation because of a mistranslation of some old texts? Harry couldn't decide whether he wanted to laugh or rant and rave at someone, but decided to let the school continue her explanation.

"The Charter was their solution to a political takeover. It was written into the very magic of the school and tied into the diamond. It gave me the power to forcibly appoint a new Head and eject any usurpers. By the time they had completed all of the various aspects of the spell, they were old. It was almost a relief to them to be able to move on with their friends, never having to live without each other. They activated the spell, pouring all of their magic and life-force into me. Helga completed the last step in the spell; she anchored the spell into the diamond, and poured the rest of herself into forging a link to the ley lines but it almost wasn't enough. However, their bodies couldn't handle the stress of channeling that much energy; they exploded into pure energy, and that extra push was enough to finish forging the link."

Hogwarts paused to gather her thoughts before continuing to the reason she was explaining this to Harry.  
>"When I was woken today, I didn't know who or what had caused me to wake. I reconnected to myself, and looked over the information that has been stored within my walls. I was dismayed to find how much things had changed since my creation. My priorities were twofold. I had to cleanse the castle of the Ministry's corruption, and I had to appoint a Headmaster who would make the changes necessary to return Hogwarts to its former glory."<p>

"The type of person I thought able to do this had to have several characteristics, and so I developed a list of requirements for my potential Headmaster or Headmistress. Those requirements included someone who would be willing to work with all of the houses equally; someone with compassion, able to empathize with the plights of others, and yet not let that get in the way of doing what needs to be done. They needed to be powerful enough to hold the wards, and they needed to be able to stand up to any opposition, even the Ministry, if it was required. I also wanted someone who was willing to change things, but also willing to keep some of the old traditions. They needed to be flexible and willing to work with all sorts of people, species, and creatures. Do you understand what sort of person I was looking for?"

"Yes ma'am," Harry replied, "And I think that you've got the right sort of requirements if you're looking for someone who will make drastic, but fair, changes."

"Exactly, Harry!" exclaimed Hogwarts in delight. "Well, I went through the professors' files first with those requirements firmly in mind, but was disappointed to find that no one would be able to meet them; most couldn't even meet half of them!"

"Really?" questioned Harry, startled. "I would have thought that McGonagall or Flitwick would fit the bill perfectly."

"They were the best candidates among the staff," agreed Hogwarts with sorrow in her voice. "Unfortunately, they are too set in their ways, and they both have several other things against them. McGonagall is slightly prejudiced against Slytherin, though she tries not to let it show or affect her actions, and Flitwick would be unwilling to stand up to the Ministry, rightly fearing that they would take out their wrath upon his Goblin brothers. It is also a sad fact that many would not listen to him because of his mixed heritage. It was then that I moved on to the students. I started with the seventh years and, when I didn't find any candidates there, continued working my way down through the years hoping to find someone who would meet all of the requirements."

"The students?" gasped Harry in shock, "Why would you choose a student as a Headmaster?"

"Because," Hogwarts replied amiably. "It's what is needed. More than an adult, more than anything, the school needs someone, _anyone_ willing to clean things up. If anyone is in a position to judge what this school needs, it is I. However, I have to admit that the founders never saw this happening. They didn't realize that my psyche would develop enough to look past the fact that a Head was needed. They didn't think I would decide that a certain _type_ of Head was needed and, that being the case, assumed that I would choose the Deputy Head as the next in the 'line of succession,' so to speak. If the Deputy wasn't able to take over the school, one of the other teachers would surely do. I suppose they also assumed that the students would all be too immature to do the job properly, and for good reason. Luckily, there are a few who are mature enough to handle it. The fail-safe, in case _none_ of my residents were suitable, was that the school building would be put in the control of the current government, while the room and diamond, which really are what make up the soul of Hogwarts, would be transported elsewhere and begin to create a new school."

Harry had no idea what to say to this. Hogwarts revert to the Ministry's control and no longer be Hogwarts? Unthinkable! There must be something he could do to help?

"Lady Hogwarts," said Harry. He was nervous, but there _had_ to be something he could do! "Is there anything I can do to help? Please, I don't want you to have to leave and start over!"

"Thank you Harry," Hogwarts was pleased with his offer. "I have something you can help me with; you'll understand in a moment."

Harry was relieved that there was something he'd be able to do. He smiled brightly and happily replied, "Yes ma'am!"

She continued, "I made it through the seventh years, but could not find anybody who met the requirements. So, I moved on to the sixth year students. Again, I couldn't find anybody; I was starting to get worried. Any younger than fifth year and it was likely that they wouldn't have the maturity to handle the position of Headmaster or Headmistress of Hogwarts. Also, I doubt that even the most mature first years would go along with the idea of being the head of a school they'd only been attending for a few months," she added with amusement.

Harry snickered at the idea of one of the younger years being asked to become Head of Hogwarts. He could just see the look on their faces!

"Thankfully," said Hogwarts with relief evident in the tone of her voice, "I was able to find someone among the fifth years. They fit all of my requirements. I think they could probably handle it on their own, but it would be a struggle. In fact, I think I'm going to insist that they ask for help from other people and share the burden. I think they'll be the best Head the school has ever seen!"

Harry perked up. "Who is it?" Suddenly, Harry remembered that she said there was something he could help her with. "Oh! I bet it's Hermione! Do you want me to be on the committee to help her?"

Hogwarts shook her head at how clueless he was. "No, Harry, it's not Hermione. It's you. Harry, I want you to be the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I sincerely believe that you are perfect for the position!"

"What?" Harry asked faintly as he slumped into his chair.

"Harry," soothed the school. "You are my candidate for the Headmaster position." She could see that Harry was starting to recover from his shock, so she hurried on. "I know you're surprised, so let me explain my reasoning."

Harry forcibly kept himself from protesting, instead nodding his head. He figured listening was the least he could do before he refused outright_._

"You have saved the school numerous times; you're willing to break the rules in defense of others. You don't fight unless provoked; if you _are_ provoked, you're willing to finish it. You are a halfblood from an Most Ancient and Most Noble House, but were raised with muggles. You get along with almost everybody; you obviously care about people and easily forgive them when they show they are truly sorry. When the Ministry-appointed professor proved inadequate, you began teaching your peers, even when the Ministry made it illegal. You're powerful, you'll work hard when you think it's worth it, and you're willing to stand up for what you believe in even when it seems like the whole world is calling you a liar. You are friends with a house-elf and you try to treat everyone equally. Best of all, several portraits in the library have heard you speaking insistently with your friends about the changes you feel must be made, as they would make Hogwarts better and safer for the students."

Hogwarts finished her recital of Harry's file to a thoroughly blushing Harry. She was also relieved to see that he no longer looked like he was going to refuse her proposition immediately.

"Do you understand now, Harry, why I thought you would be perfect?" she questioned gently.

"But… I didn't do any of those things alone!" Harry stuttered in protest. "I had loads of help from my friends!"

"Yes," said Hogwarts. "And you'll still be doing this with 'loads of help' from others; the only difference is that, in this case, you will always be the one making the final decisions. But, then again," she added slyly, "Isn't that the way it's always been?"

"But Madame Hogwarts," called Harry in desperation. "I can't even manage my own life! How can you suggest that I try to run a school like Hogwarts on top of that? And what about my own classes? What will I do to graduate if I am going to be busy running the school? And have you even thought about how absurd it is for me to be graduating from a school I'm in charge of?"

Harry and the school spent the next few minutes arguing back and forth over what should be done. Hogwarts was still trying to convince Harry that he would make an excellent Headmaster while he kept protesting that he would be horrible at the job. They finally come to a compromise. Harry would ask Ron and Hermione to meet him in the Room of Requirement. He would tell them what was going on and ask their opinions on what he should do.

"Well, they'll already know that _something _is going on, because of the announcement," Harry said thoughtfully. "I think I'll ask Dobby to give Ron and Hermione my message." He paused for a moment before calling out, "Dobby?"

There was a popping sound and Dobby appeared right next to Harry. "Harry Potter, sir, is calling for Dobby?" asked Dobby, while he bounced on his heels.

"Yes, thank you Dobby," said Harry. "Could you get a message to Ron and Hermione for me? Ask them to meet me in the D.A. room, please. Make sure they're alone, though. I don't want anyone else to know what is going on, okay?" After Dobby had popped away, Harry continued under his breath, mumbling, "Then again, I suppose everyone already knows that _something_ is going on. What I really don't want them to know is that it has anything to do with me..."

"Lady Hogwarts," said Harry out loud in a weary voice. "If it is okay with you, I will meet you again in the Room of Requirement."

"Very well Harry," said Hogwarts in a cheerful voice. "I will see you and your friends there, so we can continue our discussion."

The Sorting Hat slumped a little bit and the glow in the room seemed to diminish. Harry proceeded to stumble out of the office in a daze, mumbling something about excessively cheerful castles. As he made his way to the Room of Requirement, he kept asking himself the same question over and over.

"Why do these kinds of things always happen to me?"


	2. Convincing

**A/N:** I took some liberties with the timeline. In my story, Harry and his friends decided to research Tom Riddle after the completion of second year instead of waiting for Dumbledore to tell him about it in sixth year. I just feel that Harry and his friends would be a little more curious about Tom Riddle once the whole Chamber of Secrets thing happened and would try to figure out all they could on what caused him to turn bad. This is why they know all of Tom's information and are able to tell the other students now instead of not knowing anything about him.

I also realize that there is a lot of reiteration in this chapter but it had to be done to explain to everybody what was going on.

Please don't hesitate to leave me a review and let me know what you think!

**Chapter 2 – Convincing**

As Harry made his way to the Room of Requirement in a daze, Dobby searched for his friends Ron and Hermione whom he was asked to deliver a message. He finally found them in the Gryffindor common room trying to figure out where Harry had gone. Dobby kept himself invisible and tried to catch their attention.

"Psst" he whispered from next to their feet.

"Did you hear that Ron?" questioned Hermione while trying to find the source of the sound.

"I didn't hear anything except the canceled class party going on in here." Ron grumbled.

"Sir's Miss Grangy!" called Dobby a little louder but still quiet enough not to be heard by anybody else.

Hermione seemed to realize what was going on and looks around wildly "Dobby?" she asked quietly.

"Yes Miss Grangy, Dobby is here at your feet!" he called excitedly.

"Ron," called Hermione. "It's Dobby and he is keeping himself invisible for some reason. Maybe he knows what happened to Harry!"

She turned to where the sound of Dobby's voice is coming from and asked "Dobby, do you know where Harry is?"

"Yes Miss Grangy! Dobby has a message that the great Harry Potter sir asked Dobby to deliver!" Dobby looked around to make sure that no one else was listening before continuing on with the message. "Harry Potter sir asked Dobby to tell Harry Potter sir's friends to meet him in the Come and Go Room and to make sure that they are not being followed."

"Do you know why he wants us to meet him there Dobby?" asked Ron in confusion.

"No Sir's Mr. Wheezy," Dobby said in disappointment that he couldn't answer their questions. "Dobby was not informed but was only told that Harry Potter sir considers it very important that you come."

"Did he mean now or at some later time Dobby?" questioned Hermione.

"Harry Potter sir meant as soon as Harry Potter sir's friends could make their way there." Dobby nodded his head firmly even though Ron and Hermione still couldn't see him.

Ron and Hermione exchanged concerned glances and then turned to face the area that they believed Dobby to be in and said in unison, "We're on our way!"

Meanwhile, Harry had made his way to the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy. He started pacing back and forth while trying to concentrate on a room that would have comfortable seating for all of the them and a physical representation of Hogwarts so that they could ask her questions without having to retrieve the Sorting Hat from the Head's office.

Eventually a door appeared and Harry entered into the room. It looked just like the Gryffindor common room only with fewer chairs. There was a female sitting in the fourth chair that Harry had never seen. She looked to be in her late thirties to early forties and modeled after what people generally referred to as an earth mother type. The female had very dark grey hair and medium grey eyes.

After thinking about it for a few seconds Harry asked, "Lady Hogwarts?"

"Yes Harry," responds the female sounding pleased. "It is I. When you asked the room for a physical representation for me it came up with this. It is actually very well done. Both my hair and eye colors match the stone of my walls."

"Oh, okay" mumbled Harry and flopped down into one of the chairs to think about what had happened while he waited for his friends to get here.

Hogwarts merely smiled at him gently but kept quiet. She knew that she had just asked a lot of Harry considering all that is already on his shoulders but she also knew that for her to keep going and flourish as a school she needed him as the Headmaster.

After a few minutes of quiet contemplation the door was flung open and Ron and Hermione rushed in looking frantic.

"Harry, are you okay?" asked Hermione while running her eyes over him as if to check for injuries.

"Mate, what's going on?" questioned Ron in panic.

"Did Umbridge hurt you?" asked Hermione with an angry glint in her eyes.

"Do you know why classes are cancelled?" said Ron with interest.

"She didn't expel you, did she?" wailed Hermione.

"Do you know why Dumbledore wasn't at the announcements at lunch?" Ron looks extremely confused.

Harry raised his hands in protest. "Guys, calm down. I can only answer one question at a time."

Hermione huffed but they both quieted down. They wanted to know what was going on and why Harry had told them that it was urgent for them to meet him here in the Room of Requirement.

"First of all," Harry said with a smile towards Hermione. "Hermione, I am not injured or hurt in anyway. And no, Umbridge did not expel me nor did anybody else hurt or expel me. As for Ron's questions… well that is what I called you up here for. You may want to sit down for this."

Hermione and Ron both look simultaneously relieved and worried at the same time. It was great news that Harry hadn't been hurt or expelled but him asking them to sit down means that there was even bigger news to impart.

Harry rubbed his hands together and took a deep breath. "Alright, I have an issue that needs dealt with immediately and I need your help to figure out what I should do. First though, I need to introduce you to someone." Here he gestured towards Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione noticed her for the first time and looked startled that they had missed her being in the room.

"Hermione, Ron, allow me to introduce the physical representation of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Harry blurted out without thinking about how this introduction would be received.

"Excuse me?" questioned Hermione faintly while Ron burst out laughing.

"I know that it sounds like I am crazy guys, but hear me out." Harry said with slumped shoulders.

The two exchanged questioning glances and then nodded at Harry for him to explain as they will try and listen with open minds.

Harry sighed in relief and began his story. "It all started right after the D.A. meeting this morning. I was the last one to leave the room to make sure that things were cleaned up and the door would vanish so no one would be able to find our meeting room. On my way back to the Gryffindor common room I was tripped and grabbed by Umbitch and a few of her cronies, which did not include Malfoy. Umbitch spent a few minutes crowing about what she was going to do to me before she took me up to Dumbledore's office where we met Dumbledore, Fudge, McGonagall, Shacklebolt, Percy, and some other auror named Dawlish."

"Umbitch and Fudge confronted Dumbledore about me having an illegal organization going on in the school. Dumbledore made some subtle gestures that told me to lie about what was going on."

It was here that both Ron and Hermione looked startled at the Headmaster telling Harry to lie even to save himself from the minister and Umbridge.

Harry ignored their looks and kept going. "Umbitch brought in Marietta Edgecombe, whom it seems went to her after the meeting and confessed that she had been involved in it and gave all of the details. Hermione, you'll be glad to know that your curse worked. She had huge purple boils spelling out the word 'sneak' across her face."

Hermione looked immensely pleased with herself at her curse working along with extremely angry that it needed to be used because someone had told Umbridge about what was going on with the D.A.

Harry didn't seem to notice Hermione's reaction and kept explaining. "Fudge and Umbridge told us how they had made a deal with Willy Widdershins to get him to tell about our meeting in the Hog's Head. Fortunately they couldn't say anything about that because the ministry decree for illegal organizations came out a few days later. Marietta was unwilling to lift her face out of her hands to talk for fear of people seeing what was on her face. Umbridge was trying to convince her to tell Fudge what she had just told her when I felt a spell go by me. I wouldn't discover what it was until later but Marietta, under coaxing from Dumbledore, revealed that there had only been one meeting of the D.A. and that was the one that took place today."

Hermione looked like she was trying to figure out a puzzle while Ron was just looking on in worry over what Harry was revealing.

"After a bit of yelling, Umbridge finally gave up on getting Marietta to say that there had been more than one meeting and turned to confront Fudge. She told him how Marietta had told her how the room worked early this morning and Umbridge had found our meeting room and the list of names that was posted on the wall. She gave it to Fudge, wearing the most disgusting smile yet. Fudge noticed that we called ourselves 'Dumbledore's Army' and accused Professor Dumbledore of treason and trying to incite a mutiny against the ministry while trying to take over his job."

Both Ron and Hermione looked amused and disgusted at this. Fudge believed that everybody was after his job. Maybe because he knew that he was doing such a bad job of it!

"Dumbledore confessed to being in charge of the D.A. even when I tried to say something. Fudge was ecstatic and told him that he was no longer the Headmaster as he was under arrest. Dumbledore told him that was fine but he had to catch him first and he wasn't going to 'go quietly.'"

Ron and Hermione opened their mouths to start protesting but a look from Harry shut them up.

"Dumbledore cast some huge spell that knocked everybody but McGonagall and me out. He helped us up and told me that Kingsley had modified Marietta's memories so that she would only be able to recall today's meeting. That was the spell I felt flying by me earlier in the meeting. He told me to keep studying Occlumency and to do what I could to prepare the school, then grabbed Fawkes' tail-feathers and vanished. The others woke up and everybody took off down the stairs thinking that Dumbledore had gone that way to escape."

"A few minutes after they had left the office, McGonagall and Fudge were arguing back and forth, when the castle started rumbling. You guys felt that right?"

Hermione nodded her head in agreement. "It was very faint but I felt it Harry. I was wondering at the time what was going on but forgot to ask about it later on."

For the first time, Hogwarts spoke to Harry's friends. "That was me waking up."

Ron and Hermione looked skeptical but kept listening.

"Harry," said Hogwarts while nodding her head in his direction. "I believe that it is time for me to take over the explanation."

Harry nodded his head and sat back in his chair with relief. He knew that Hogwarts would be able to explain this part better than he could and it would sound more legitimate than if it came from him.

"First," began Hogwarts. "Is there anything I can do to convince you that I am who I say I am?"

Hermione looked both thoughtful and wary. "If you are really are the castle then I assume that you would know everything that goes on in it, correct?"

"Yes," stated Hogwarts calmly. "That is correct."

"Do you have some form of eyes and ears when you are not in this 'physical' form," Hermione asked in a more excited manner. "I mean do you use the portraits or the ghosts or something to that affect?"

"You are quite correct Miss Granger," Hogwarts said as she gave a proud smile in Hermione's direction. "However, there are limitations. I can only see if there is something with eyes nearby; be it a portrait, suit of armor, house-elf, etc. My entire 'body,' as in anything that is a part of the castle, can absorb sound to keep it but it can be extremely difficult to retrieve."

The three friends exchanged looks. Hogwarts, at seeing there confusion, tried to explain further.

"Hmm," she muttered with a frown before her face lit up in comprehension. "Aha! Let me give you an example. Do you remember your first year and how the three of you were trying to find out about Nicholas Flamel from the library?"

While Harry and Ron groaned in remembered pain, Hermione nodded her head vigorously.

"And you recall how frustrating and difficult it was to have to search the entire library with only one name to go on and no help from anyone?" she asked while looking at Harry and Ron's pained grimaces with amusement.

"Well," she began thoughtfully. "Imagine if the library had a printed book on every single conversation, shout whisper, anything at all that had made a sound in these halls. Now imagine that the library was in complete disarray and had no sense of organization whatsoever. A conversation between teachers from three hundred years ago was shelved next to you three's conversation from one time in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom in your second year and a book of Peeve's taunts towards the Marauders from your father's third year. And you still only had one name or topic to go on. You would have to go through every single book until you found what you are looking for."

Hogwarts couldn't help but laugh at the looks of horror on the faces on Harry and Ron. When she finally managed to stop laughing and looked towards Hermione she had to start all over again. Hermione had a determined but passionate look on her face as if she was about to demand to be taken to this 'library' so that she could begin to start sorting it into some form of order.

After a few minutes of laughter, she calmed herself down and spoke although a snort still slipped out every now and then. "Now you must understand that I 'look' through this 'library' at the speed of thought but it can still take some time to pull up a specific sound or conversation. And yes Hermione, I can still answer your original question being that I started to look for anything having to do with you three as soon as you started your questions of me. So go ahead and pick what you would like as your proof."

"Fourth year after the Yule Ball," said Hermione with a blush. "I know that I never told anybody about that and I was alone in the girl's bathroom after checking to make sure that no one was listening."

"Are you sure that you want me to talk about that specific one?" asked Hogwarts worriedly.

"Yes ma'am," she said quietly. "It's the only one that I can think of off the top of my head where I know that I never told anybody and no one heard me but the walls in that bathroom."

"Well," mused Hogwarts. "How about I whisper it in your ear so that the boys won't have to hear it but you will still have your proof that what I am saying is true?"

Hermione looked extremely relieved at that answer and eagerly nodded her head in agreement. Hogwarts got up and walked over to her chair. She leaned down and proceeded to whisper in her ear for a few minutes. Hermione got paler and paler before finally blushing beet red. Hogwarts went back to her chair and sat down again.

"She really is Hogwarts!" squeaked Hermione through her blushing.

Hogwarts turned to Ron who told her "If Hermione believes you then I do to." he said firmly.

"Very well than," Hogwarts said in an amused tone. "Allow me to explain where Harry left off."

She covered the same things she had told Harry; about how she had awoken, why she had awoken, the history behind the spell, the need for a new headmaster, and everything else. However, before she could get to who she had chosen for the new head, she was interrupted with questions from Hermione.

"So who will be the new Headmaster? What is going to happen to the school? Will the Ministry be able to fight the charter and take back control of the school?"

Harry winced but did not answer her questions. He waited for them to calm down before he told them "There is more to the story that you need to hear first. Please let Lady Hogwarts finish."

Hogwarts told them of her search through the staff files and why she did not choose one of them. Hermione looked like she was going to say something but a cough from Harry stopped her.

Hogwarts covered her search through the students' files and why she needed to pick someone currently at Hogwarts. She reiterated her requirements in a Head before telling them that she chose Harry as the new Head even though he has yet to agree as he wanted to talk it over with them before he made a decision.

The room got quiet as Hogwarts stopped talking and both Hermione and Ron are too shocked to say anything. Harry waited in dreaded anticipation for the blow up that was more than likely about to occur.

For Ron, the thought of Harry becoming the Headmaster caused two emotions to become immediately apparent. The first was elation, as with his best friend as the Head, he would be able to get away with anything in the school. However the second emotion, jealousy, quickly took over and overwhelmed him. He did learn his lesson from fourth year and the tri-wizard tournament however, and decided to think it over before he opens his mouth and ruins his friendship with his best friend again and maybe permanently this time. _'Would I really want to be Headmaster?'_ he asked himself.

'_While it would be cool for the first few minutes,'_ he thought to himself after a few minutes of contemplation. _'I think that the actual work involved would get very boring after very little time. I would have enough trouble finishing my regular homework assignments let alone doing all that boring paperwork. That would be like homework times a hundred! No way in bloody hell! Besides, I can still probably be involved. Harry will be the one that has to deal with all the problems that will come. I can freely admit that I would have no idea as to how to handle that. Well it looks like I have made my decision. Support Harry as Headmaster!_ Ron nodded his firmly.

For Hermione, the thought of her best friend as the new Headmaster brought nothing but worry and elation. She knew that Harry had a lot on his mind already and the thought of adding the running of a school to that caused Hermione to panic. While she agreed with Hogwarts' reasoning, she didn't want Harry to be overwhelmed. Maybe she could convince Harry to accept some help for this problem?

And that was where the elation came into play. As long as he was willing to take advice from others and not try and do everything himself she fully believed that he would settle into the job nicely. He was great with people and had a very quick intellect that could spot problems that most people don't notice until it was too late. He was a very flexible person and was willing to do what needed to be done even if it made him unpopular for a short time. So, although Hermione could see some problems with this arrangement, she was prepared to convince Harry to accept the position under certain conditions. Now to see how Ron would react.

The two friends look at each other in question after they were done thinking, nodded at each other, and then turned to Harry. "We agree with Lady Hogwarts!" they both stated.

Harry was shocked at their agreement. He expected Ron to get jealous and storm out with Hermione protesting that he should leave the Headmaster job to an adult and that he is too young for that much responsibility.

"Wh… what," stuttered Harry. "I thought you would both be against this and help me convince Lady Hogwarts to pick someone else!"

"But Harry," started Hermione after getting a nod from Ron. "You would be a very good Headmaster! The majority of the students listen to you, you defend the students from bullies, you are willing to work with anybody as long as they respect everybody else, and for various others assorted reasons. I only have a few questions to ask Lady Hogwarts before you agree."

Harry is stunned and couldn't speak.

Hermione turned to Hogwarts and started on her questions. "Lady Hogwarts, will this Headmaster position be temporary or will Harry be able to keep it for as long as he wants?"

Hogwarts smiled as she responded to the question. "He will be able to keep the position until he dies if that is his wish."

Harry looked startled. Be Headmaster for the rest of his life? But he wanted to be an auror! Well maybe not so much now if he was going to work under people like Fudge and Umbridge but still!

"But I will be able to quit at some point if I want to right?" Harry asked nervously.

"Of course Harry," responded Hogwarts in shock. "This position is a job not a sentence for life! If, at some later point you want to quit and move on to another job, you just need to let me know who your replacement recommendation is and if I agree, take a little time to train him or her."

"Excellent," called Hermione. "Now for my next question. Does Harry need to run all of his decision through you first or will he be able to make them on his own?"

"That is a very good question Ms. Granger," said Hogwarts in approval. "I would prefer that Harry use me as a sounding board for all the major decisions but it is not a requirement merely a request so that I may be 'kept in the loop' as the saying goes."

"Finally," said Hermione with some trepidation. "Will Harry be allowed to have help from people, and if so, is it limited to a certain number?"

"Absolutely not," exclaimed Hogwarts. "I want Harry to have as much help as he needs to make informed decisions. Although I do ask that he makes sure that his advisors are not helping him for their own personal gain and they sincerely want to help the school and not just themselves."

"This is perfect Harry," exclaimed Hermione in relief. "I think you should create a council of adult advisors so that you have input from several different people instead of just a few. I also think that you may want to consider a council of students from all of the houses so that they may represent what the rest of the students will think about your decisions from their point of view."

Ron spoke up immediately. "Why do we need to include the purebloods and Slytherins? They will automatically be against anything Harry says!"

Harry had been tentatively nodding his head in agreement with what Hermione was saying. After Ron's comment he spoke up. "Ron, the Slytherins represent one quarter of the school. We cannot just exclude them! Besides, maybe this will help us to return Slytherin to the reputation that they should have had if not for that mistranslated text back in the days. It also might change a few of their minds about joining Voldemort when they graduate."

While Harry was convincing Ron that they needed to include the Snakes, Hermione was requesting parchment and quills from the room. They were going to have to write down everything that was being said so they could reference it later if needed.

When Harry was done, both of them turned to Hermione. Hermione started of the discussion. "I think we should have a maximum of eight people not including Harry. That will allow us to cover all of the different people here at Hogwarts without becoming overwhelming. Does that make sense?"

Harry and Ron nodded in agreement after a few minutes of thought.

"What I was thinking," said Harry. "Is that we make like the muggle student council, where there is a representative elected from each house. One for the fifth through seventh years and one for the first through fourth years. If it becomes a popularity contest I still have the right to reject them from the council for not doing their jobs and it will go on their records. That should keep all but the most determined people from trying to get elected for the wrong reasons."

Ron piped up. "Also, we should make it to where if a student is elected for the lower year rep it would only be for one year and they cannot be elected again until they qualify for the upper year rep spot. That will keep the same people from being elected several years in a row. The most they would be able to achieve is two years as a student."

"Excellent idea you three," Hogwarts beamed. "This will allow many ideas to be brought to our attention from the students and not the same ones over and over."

"Now for the adult council," Hermione said with a small frown. "This one is going to be hard. I think we should be careful about including anybody that already has a child currently attending Hogwarts. We might end up with too many conflicts."

"I agree," stated Harry with an apologetic look towards Ron. "I think we should try and get an adult from the major areas of the wizarding world. I was thinking a professor from Hogwarts, someone from the Ministry, and a parent of a former student."

"We also might want to look for someone from Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade so we can get a business person's opinion on the effect to the rest of the wizarding world." said Hermione as she chewed on her quill.

"St. Mungos might be a good choice," said Ron with a thoughtful look on his face. "I can see having a healer's point of view coming in handy later on."

"I recommend a goblin from Gringotts to help with the financial aspects," Hogwarts stated firmly. "They know everything there is to know about managing money and that will help when it comes to the budget and what we can or cannot afford."

"That is six so far," mumbled Hermione as she looked over her lists. "I can't really think of anybody else that would be helpful."

"Neither can I." Harry and Ron chorused together.

"We need to get started on the research Harry," called Hogwarts with a small frown. "There are a lot of things we need to look at before you start making any decisions about accepting the Headmaster position. You are going to need some help though."

Hermione tapped her quill to her lips in thought before she smiled. "How about we ask some of our friends to help us research? Once they know what is going on they will probably be thrilled to help and may even contribute some new ideas."

Harry lit up. "That's a great idea Hermione! But who should we invite? I mean we can't invite everyone."

"Maybe limit it to four from each house?" Hermione mumbled to herself. "That should be sufficient."

"Okay Harry," stated Hermione after she looked up from her mumbling. "I'm thinking four from each house. It would give us a good number for the research we are going to need to do but not be to overwhelming that we lose ideas in the process."

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Sounds like a plan if we can convince them to come and help."

"I already know that Ron and I are included from Gryffindor so we just need two more people. I was thinking of Neville and Ginny. Everybody else seems too flighty, like Parvati and Lavender, or already against you, like Seamus."

Harry had a thoughtful look on his face before agreeing. "I also don't think that Dean would be too interested and it would conflict with his being friends with Seamus anyway so your choices are good 'Mione."

Ron spoke up, "I do not think Zacharias Smith should be included form the Hufflepuffs. He causes too much trouble for Harry in the D.A. Imagine what he would do with Harry as the Headmaster! I just don't think that he would be a good idea as an adviser."

"I agree with Ron 'Mione," said Harry. "I think for Hufflepuff we should have Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Ernie Macmillan, and Justin Flinch-Fletchly. They are all nice people and willing to work with others and not cause trouble."

"Excellent," said Hermione while scribbling down the names. "Now for the Ravenclaws. I was thinking of Padma Patil and Terry Boot."

"Those two would be a good idea." said Ron while nodding his head.

"I think the other two should be Luna Lovegood and Anthony Goldstein," commented Harry after some thought. "Luna would bring someone with press experience and Anthony seems like he is very smart which could be helpful."

"Works for me." Ron shrugged as Hermione nodded her head and wrote the two names down.

"I already know who I want to ask from Slytherin," Harry said hesitantly. "I think that Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, and Tracey Davis would be excellent additions. I have never heard of anybody complaining about them and I think that they would be willing to work with the others."

Both Ron and Hermione had to think about it for a minute as they had never really interacted with those particular Snakes before. After they couldn't come up with any reason not to, they nodded their heads in agreement.

"Now before I mention this fourth person," Harry said in a firm voice. "I want you to listen to my reasoning. I think the fourth student adviser from Slytherin should be Draco Malfoy."

Ron and Hermione opened their mouths to protest but Harry held up his hands and said "I told you to listen first."

After getting reluctant nods he continued on. "I know that both of you think I am nuts but let me tell you what I have observed since fifth year began. Malfoy has only been acting his previous role of bigot and bully. I can see it in his eyes. Maybe he saw what Voldemort was really like once he was reborn and no longer believes in him, I don't know, but for whatever reason, he has changed. He is merely going through the motions right now and doesn't really believe what he is saying."

Hermione couldn't help herself and opened her mouth to question "But Harry, how can you tell?"

Harry sent her a small smile. "It's in his eyes. They are filled with disgust and a little bit of shame when he calls you a Mudblood and Ron a blood-traitor. His insults have regressed back to first year instead of getting nastier like they should have after Voldemort was reborn and him being on the Dark side. And I don't know if you have noticed but he doesn't actively seek us out to insult us anymore. He only reacts if he runs in to us by accident. Trust me. Something has caused Malfoy to change his mind. And I think we should take advantage of that and encourage him to continue on this path. So what do you guys think?"

"I don't like it Mate," Ron said firmly. "However, you are usually the one that can read people better than I can so I'll agree to go along with it until he insults any of us or our families then I will take him out, okay?"

"I can agree to that," said Harry with a nod. "But you have to check and make sure he really means it and is not just saying it out of habit like we might say Ferret or something similar, alright?"

Ron thought about it and before he reluctantly nodded his head. It was now Hermione's turn.

"While I can agree with your reasoning Harry," stated Hermione. "I just want you to make sure that you are not going to try and save everybody at the cost of others. Make sure that you can trust him before you tell him everything that is going on. As long as you do that, I will agree that having Malfoy as an adviser would be advantageous."

"Perfect," crowed Harry. "Now we need to get the students here to the Room so we can start to discuss what needs to be done. Do either of you have an idea on how to do that?"

Hogwarts interrupted, "Harry, you might try writing a note and having one of the house-elves deliver it where no one can see like you did with Dobby. That way, the students do not make the others aware that something is going on before you are ready to tell people."

"I can write a generalized note that we can ask them to deliver," chimed in Hermione. "But Harry, you will need to add something to the Snakes' notes to get them here or they will not believe it."

Harry agreed and they sat down to come up with what the note should say. After a few minutes they had what they needed. The letter read like this:

_Dear (insert name here),_

_I am asking you to come to the Room of Requirement as soon as possible so that I may utilize your skills in a new undertaking for the school. Please make sure that no one else is aware of where you are going as we want to keep this secret for now. There is nothing illegal or dangerous involved so please do not be worried._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry Potter_

Harry decided that since he cannot go and retrieve the Slytherins himself, he would add a little more to the note that will hopefully calm their fears of a trap or joke. He ends up with a note for the Slytherins' that looked like this:

_Dear (insert name here),_

_I am asking you to come to the Room of Requirement as soon as possible so that I may utilize your skills in a new undertaking for the school. Please make sure that no one else is aware of where you are going as we want to keep this secret for now. There is nothing illegal or dangerous involved so please do not be worried._

_I do want to assure you that this is neither a trap nor a joke at your expense. I am willing to take an oath when you get to the Room of Requirement to the effect of you not being injured or harmed during this meeting._

_Please know that this is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and will most likely, never come again. Please do not hesitate to take advantage of it while it is there. If you decide not to come, I believe that you will regret it for the rest of your life._

_If you need directions to the Room, please ask the house-elf who delivered this note to you._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry Potter_

Harry turned to Hogwarts and asked her if she could please send up four house-elves, including Dobby, to deliver the notes to their recipients.

"Of course Harry." said Hogwarts and snaps her fingers.

Four house-elves appeared in the room. Hermione took three of them to the side to ask them to deliver their notes to the respective houses while Harry asked Dobby to stay with him.

"Dobby," asked Harry in a worried voice. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor. But before you agree, I want you to hear what the favor is first, okay?"

"Dobby would do anything for the great Harry Potter sir!" called Dobby in excitement.

"Thank you Dobby," said Harry with a small smile. "But hear me out first. I need you to deliver four notes to four Slytherin students, one of which is the child of your former master, Lucius Malfoy."

Harry had never seen a house-elf go pale but that was what he was witnessing now.

Harry hurried through the rest of his explanation. "I need them to be alone for you to deliver it and for you to wait around so that you may assure them that it is not a trap or a joke. I believe that Draco has turned over a new leaf and will not cause you any problems, but if he does, you remind yourself that you are a free house-elf now and can retaliate of you need to, okay?"

Dobby's nod looked a little shaky but he was determined to help Harry Potter in whatever he was involved in. "Dobby didn't see young Master Malfoy much Harry Potter sir. Dobby should not have much trouble."

"Thank you Dobby," said Harry in relief. "You don't know how much I appreciate this!"

Dobby seemed to perk up at this before he popped away to complete his mission. The other elves followed his example and all popped away to deliver their notes.

The trio decided to get the room ready for the incoming students while they wait. They started going through a mental list of what they would need and had Harry request it from the Room. This included a pensieve, parchment, quills, notebooks, pens, and a large conference table with chairs circling it so that everybody would be able to see everybody else.

The elves that were asked to make their deliveries to the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw students had no trouble and received agreements immediately along with assurances that the students would be on their way as soon as they could do so without alerting anybody.

Dobby, on the other hand, was having a little more trouble. He had located the students that he had been tasked to find in the library but unfortunately, they were surrounded by several other Slytherin students. Dobby, while still keeping himself invisible, bounced on his heels as he tried to figure out what he should do. After thinking about it for a few moments, he cast a mild compulsion spell on all but the four students. The other students got up and murmured excuses before leaving the table and wandering off, leaving the four students Dobby needed to speak to, alone at the table.

Dobby hesitantly approached the table before steeling himself. This was for the great Harry Potter sir! Dobby would do anything for him even approach former bad master's son!

After checking to make sure that there was no one else around, he revealed himself to the students who looked startled at an elf approaching them in the library.

"Dobby," Draco exclaimed in shock. "Is that you? Father told me you had died!"

"Oh no," said Dobby in a quivery voice. "The great Harry Potter sir set Dobby free from former master Malfoy! Dobby works at Hogwarts now and is paid!"

"Free?" stuttered Draco.

"Paid?" asked Blaise Zabini in an amused tone.

"Yes mister Malfoy and mister Malfoy's friend. Dobby is free elf and is paid for his work!" Dobby announced with a little more excitement in his voice as he stood taller.

"So what are you doing here little elf?" asked Daphne Greengrass with some confusion.

"Dobby is on a mission from the great Harry Potter sir," said Dobby nervously as he remembered who he was talking to. "Harry Potter sir asked Dobby to deliver notes to mister Malfoy and his friends once he got them alone."

It was here that Dobby handed them each a note. "Dobby is here to assure mister Malfoy and his friends that Harry Potter sir did not do anything to the notes and that they are neither a trap nor a joke."

The four Slytherins took the notes with some trepidation, but when nothing seemed to happen, they opened them up to read. After a few minutes the Slytherins were done reading and turned to each other to get the other's reactions. Daphne and Tracey Davis were intrigued by what the Golden Boy of Gryffindor is up to. Blaise was mildly amused that Potter had the nerve to approach the Slytherins in the first place and Draco was just confused.

"Dobby," asked Draco. "Is this really legit or is Potter up to something?"

"Harry Potter sir does not lie!" Dobby sounded offended on Harry's behalf.

"Well," asked Blaise. "What do you guys think about this?"

"I must admit that my curiosity has been roused." said Daphne with murmurs of agreement from Tracey.

"Dobby," asked Draco. "Has Potter invited anybody else to his little shindig or is it just us?"

"Harry Potter sir has invited four students from each house," Dobby said excitedly before drooping a little. "But Dobby does not know who the other students are mister Malfoy."

The Slytherins thought about it for a few more minutes before they exchanged glances and turned to Dobby to give their agreements.

"Tell Potter we will be there in about twenty minutes." said Daphne.

"But first," interrupted Blaise before Dobby could pop away. "Where is this room?"

"Mister Malfoy and his friends must go the seventh floor and look for the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy. Door to Room will be across from it." Dobby told them before he popped away in excitement to tell the great Harry Potter sir the news as the Slytherins started packing up their stuff while conversing quietly on what this might be about.

Meanwhile, back in the Room of Requirement, the other students had started to arrive. All of them tried to question the trio on what was going on but were merely told that they needed to wait for the rest of the students that are coming.

Finally, the Slytherins arrived to protest from the others. They quietly took a seat as they watched how Potter dealt with this opposition.

"Harry, why are they here?" called Ginny in disgust.

"They aren't staying are they?" asked Terry.

"Why in Merlin's name would you invite them in the first place?" questioned Justin.

Harry, after letting the others rant for a few minutes, held up his hands for silence which he received immediately. "They are here at my request. I will explain why in a few minutes but for now, know that they are under my protection until this meeting is over, understood?"

The other students were reluctant but eventually murmured their agreements.

The Slytherins were amazed at the control Potter had over the other students. What they didn't know was that those same students had been listening to Harry as a pseudo-professor for the last few months and so were used to obeying what he said while in this room.

Harry turned to Dobby and asked "Dobby, would you mind getting everybody some lunch while I explain what is going on please?"

"Anything for the great Harry Potter sir!" said Dobby before popping away to the kitchens.

Harry returned his gaze to the table and gathered himself for what he was about to say. "I guess for this to make sense, I need to start at the very beginning. I will be projecting my memories through the pensieve as I tell you what has happened so far in my life. I will try and keep this as brief as possible, but you need to know where I am coming from for this to make sense."

All of the students beside Ron and Hermione looked confused but agreeable. As long as he kept it brief and did not talk for hours they wouldn't mind hearing about the actual story from the one who had lived through it. They had heard some of the rumors through the years!

"As you all know," Harry began. "I supposedly vanquished Voldemort when I was just a little over a year old. I still feel that my mum had more to do with that than I did but I can't prove it. Dumbledore sent me to my mum's sister and her family so that he could set up blood wards based on my mum and my aunt. These would protect me from any of the stray death eaters and anyone that was out to find the Boy-Who-Lived and use me for their own gains."

There were some thoughtful nods of agreement from the students. They could understand that. Harry was huge and if someone had gotten control over him as a baby, they could have ruled the wizarding world.

"Unfortunately," Harry continued. "What Dumbledore didn't know was that my relatives, who were muggles, absolutely loathed anything that had to do with magic. That included me and it was reflected in my upbringing. I was treated as bad as a house-elf. I was made to cook from the age of five and I only received table scraps if I made enough food. I slept in the cupboard under the stairs until I received my Hogwarts letter. I was made to do all of the chores while my cousin Dudley was spoiled rotten. The only indication I had that I wasn't normal was the occasional bout of accidental magic that I performed."

Everybody looked extremely angry at this. Even the Slytherins knew that treating a child like this was wrong on all counts and for it to have been the Boy-Who-Lived just made it even worse.

"I finally received my Hogwarts letter a week before my eleventh birthday although I was not allowed to read it. The school kept sending letters but my Uncle kept them away from me. Finally, Hagrid showed up to find out why I hadn't read any of my letters. He told me about what had happened to my parents, because as far as I knew they had died in a car crash. Hagrid rescued me from the Dursleys and has been my friend ever since. He brought me my first birthday cake and my first present in the form of Hedwig."

Draco had an enlightened look on his face. No wonder Potter never let anybody insult Hagrid! If he had rescued Draco from a situation like that, Draco probably would have been friends with him too.

"Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley and introduced me to the wizarding world. This is where I met Malfoy for the first time." It was here that he turned to Draco and said. "Look Malfoy, when you and I met in Madame Malkins, you reminded me of my cousin Dudley. I thought you were a spoiled brat and got everything you ever wanted and didn't have to do any work to earn it. You insulted Hagrid and my parents unknowingly by saying that my mum should never have been allowed to attend Hogwarts. That's why I never took your hand in friendship."

Draco had a faint tinge of pink on his cheeks. He could look back and see how his introduction had caused Harry to turn on him from the beginning but he couldn't help it! He was just repeating what he had heard his father say!

"Finally, it was time for me to leave for Hogwarts. I met Ron on the train and we became friends instantly. Malfoy, I met you again, but once again, you left me with a bad impression. I got to Hogwarts and lined up to be sorted. I had heard from Hagrid that Voldemort was in Slytherin and Malfoy had said that he was going in to Slytherin, so I decided that I did not want to be in that house. The Sorting Hat told me that I could go into any house equally well and I told him 'not Slytherin'. After arguing with me for a few minutes, he eventually put me into Gryffindor."

There was shocked silence from all but Ron and Hermione. The Golden Boy of Gryffindor in Slytherin? Impossible, thought the other Snakes.

"Oh come on people," snorted Hermione. "This is Harry we are talking about here. He is the most brave, loyal, smart, and sneaky person most of us have ever met! Is it really any surprise that he could have gone in to any house?"

Harry blushed as most of the other students nodded their heads after thinking about it for a few seconds.

"Moving on," squeaked Harry through his red face. "Ron and I became friends with Hermione after we rescued her from the troll that was loose that Halloween. We eventually found out that the Philosopher's Stone was being stored and guarded here at Hogwarts. We thought Snape was the one trying to steal it because all of the evidence pointed to him."

It was here that Harry projected the memories of why they thought Snape was the one trying to steal the Stone. There were murmurs of agreement from the students. It certainly looked like Snape was guilty!

"We eventually learned that the person that was trying to steal it had managed to figure out how to get through the obstacles and had sent Dumbledore a note from the Minister of Magic asking him to go to the ministry that evening. We figured that we would have to get to the Stone first after McGonagall wouldn't believe us that someone was trying to steal it. We managed to make it through the obstacles but lost Ron to the giant chess set when he sacrificed himself so that Hermione and I could move on. Hermione was lost to Snape's obstacle because there was only enough potion for one person to move on and I decided that I would go."

Harry showed everybody the trio moving through the obstacles and the other students made exclamations of shock and awe.

"I made my way into the last room and found Professor Quirrell standing there. It turned out that he had met Voldemort in the forests of Albania and had been possessed. Voldemort was after the stone to try and bring himself back to life. I think it would be easier to just show you the confrontation."

Harry showed them how Quirrell had tried to steal the stone and Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head under his turban. After Harry blacked out from magical exhaustion, he stopped the pensieve and turned to the other students to get their reactions.

They were scared that Voldemort was in the school that entire time and no one knew. They also were extremely worried that he was apparently still somewhat alive although he seemed to have been some sort of spirit at that time. Draco is disgusted that Voldemort had to attach himself to the back of a servant's head and his apparent lack of concern for Quirrell's death even though he had carried him all year. Was this how he treated all of his followers? Why would his father follow someone like that?

"Exactly," said Harry in satisfaction. "Now we move on to my second year. Most of you know how that year went. I discovered I was a Parselmouth and everybody thought I was turning Dark. There are a few things that you don't know. Throughout the year, right before an attack, I would hear a voice in the walls talking about killing."

Harry showed his memories of the voice and the subsequent attack so the students would be able to hear what he heard, since it sounds like English to him. The students all paled when they heard the poisonous voice of the basilisk.

"Hermione finally figured out what it was but was petrified on her way back from the library. We eventually thought to look in her hand where she had ripped out a passage from a book on what she thought the creature was. It was a Basilisk, a giant snake that could kill with one look at its eyes. Fortunately, no one had looked directly into them."

Harry showed himself and Ron reasoning out how no one had died. He then showed them running to tell the professors but not being able to since Ginny had been taken.

"We knew that we were going to have to rescue Ginny ourselves since we were the only ones who knew where the Chamber of Secrets was. For the rest of this story, I am just going to show you the memory."

Harry started the memory with them going to confront Lockhart and give him the information they had. It progressed through them going down to the Chamber and the rock fall that had separated Ron and Harry from each other. Harry was shown entering the Chamber and the discovery of Ginny on the floor. It showed the students all the way up to when Riddle confessed to being Voldemort but Harry stopped it before it could continue on.

"I want everybody to pay particular attention to this part, especially you Malfoy." Harry said.

He then continued the memory through Voldemort/Riddle's confession of who he was and how he was a halfblood from a squib and muggle. Harry stops the memory so that the students can have their say.

There is instant silence at the news that Voldemort was a halfblood. Blaise couldn't help himself and burst into laughter. The fact that all of those "superior purebloods" are following a halfblood born of a squib and muggle was just hilarious to him.

Draco didn't know what to think. He knew how to recognize a false or tampered memory and this one clearly wasn't. Did his father know this and if so, why did he continue to preach about pureblood superiority if he was following a halfblood?

Harry continued the memory of him killing the basilisk and the stabbing of the diary with the fang to save Ginny. He also showed them escaping the Chamber and the confrontation in McGonagall's office. Ginny was given sympathetic looks from the other students. They couldn't imagine being under possession from a Dark Lord. It showed Harry and Dumbledore during the confrontation with Lucius and what had happened after with the freeing of Dobby.

"My father was the one who started all of this?" Draco asked with a pale face.

"Yes Malfoy," said Harry with a small frown. "Unfortunately it was what caused me to hate your father so much. It also tainted you by association in my mind, which I now regret, but I was twelve at the time."

"We are going to take a break now and let you digest what you have learned so far and ask any questions you might have." stated Harry.

A good majority of the students were still in shock over a twelve year old killing a thousand year old basilisk, let alone ask any logical questions!

Draco however, had a different idea. "Potter, do you know about Voldemort's life story?"

The trio exchanged glances before Harry turned back to Malfoy and said reluctantly, "We have been doing some research since we found out about Tom Riddle, yes."

"Tell us," demanded Draco. "We are hearing your side of the story and you represent the Light. Now I want to hear about the leader of the Dark."

Harry sent a glance at Ron and Hermione and they nodded their heads in agreement.

"Very well," Harry said. "But you're not going to like it. Voldemort was born to Merope Gaunt, the squib daughter of the last of the Gaunt Family. The Gaunt's were the last of Slytherin's line and could all speak Parseltongue. They had followed Slytherin's so-called pureblood rhetoric and continued to marry purebloods until they eventually ended marrying brothers and sisters which led to the entire line becoming squibs. Unfortunately, the Slytherin and Gaunt fortune had also been squandered away and so the Gaunt's were living in abject poverty in a small town called Little Hangleton. Now, Little Hangleton had a muggle squire, last name Riddle, who was the lord over the village. Riddle had a son named Thomas who was the epitome of what it meant to be a lord. He was rich, good-looking, smart, everything you would picture a lord's son to be."

"Merope fell in love with the Squire's son and decided that she would be able to convince him to fall in love with her. Of course, it didn't work. Merope was the product of too much inbreeding and looked like a female Crabbe or Goyle. She was about as intelligent as them to. After she was rejected by Thomas, she decided that she would brew a love potion and get him that way. It worked and Thomas ran off and married Merope. They stayed together for a year with Merope constantly feeding Thomas the love potion. She became pregnant and decided that she would take Thomas off the potion because he would obviously stay in love with her since she was carrying his baby."

"Thomas recovered his senses and ran, leaving Merope destitute. We couldn't find any information about what she did during these months as her father was dead and her brother Morfin, was serving a three year sentence in Azkaban for hexing Thomas Riddle. We do know that she showed up at a muggle orphanage and gave birth to him there. She lived just long enough to name him after his father Tom and her father Marvolo before she died with him in her arms."

"He was kept at the muggle orphanage and raised there. He was bullied for his 'freakishness' during the first few years of his life. We figure that he was having bouts of accidental magic and the other kids could tell that he was causing these incidents to happen being that children are usually more sensitive to magic. Tom got sick of it and decided to become a bully himself. He grew up under the motto 'Hurt them before they hurt you' and kept that motto for the next few years until he received his Hogwarts letter."

"Tom figured that here was a whole new world open to him. He was sorted into Slytherin where he found that he was the last descendant of the Founder. He adopted a very charming personality and began to gather a following of purebloods who believed in their superiority over muggleborns and halfbloods. These followers included your father Draco, and the parents of several of the other students currently at Hogwarts."

"He released the basilisk during his sixth year, hoping that it would help him purge the muggleborns and halfbloods from the school and continue Slytherin's great work, which it turned out, was completely untrue. Unfortunately, the first kill the basilisk made was Myrtle of Moaning Myrtle, the ghost in the girl's bathroom. Unlike in my second year, where no one was killed, the school was going to have to close. Riddle decided that he couldn't have that. He needed access to the library and the teachers to continue to learn more about magic. He decided to frame Rubeus Hagrid, who was raising an acromantula at the time."

"Hagrid was expelled in his third year and Riddle never brought the basilisk out again for fear that they would know that it wasn't Hagrid and start looking for a new culprit. After he graduated, he moved around Europe for a while, where, from what we can figure, he performed several Dark rituals that altered his appearance and changed his name to Lord Voldemort so that no one would be able to connect him to Tom Riddle, Slytherin Head Boy. After that he started the first war and the rest is history."

The students just sat there in silence. They had no idea as to what to say to that story. The girls felt a little sympathy for Merope but it was alleviated by the love potion. Draco, on the other hand, had a lot to say.

"Are you telling me that the so called Dark Lord grew up with muggles and the only reason he started this war was because they bullied him when he was a child?" Draco shouted in disbelief.

"Pretty much, yeah." Harry said with a shrug.

Draco shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe that all of this was over one man wanting to get some petty childish revenge on the muggles who had bullied him when he was young!

Harry sent Malfoy a concerned look but decided to move on to his third year. "I am going to skip over most of my third year. The only thing you guys need to know is what happened at the end so I am going to show the confrontation with Sirius Black in the Shrieking Shack."

Harry started the memory from when the trio had first gone to see Hagrid over Buckbeak's execution. The students saw how the trio managed to find out what really went on with Harry's parent's Secret Keeper and how Peter Pettigrew had been hiding all of these years.

They saw how Hermione had been taking all of her classes that year and how Harry and Hermione were encouraged by Dumbledore to rewind time and save Sirius and Buckbeak. Draco was kind of glad that the hippogriff had escaped as he hadn't wanted him executed, that was just his father.

The students were amazed and shocked that Black was innocent and that he had never received a trial in the first place. Susan made a vow to herself to mention this to her aunt so that she could look into it and get Harry's godfather freed.

"So, no Voldemort in my third year thankfully but that would change in my fourth year. I am only going to show you what happened during and after the Third Task. The rest of it you already know. Here we go. Brace yourselves."

Harry started the memory at him entering the maze in the Third Task. He showed how he had encouraged Cedric to take the cup since he was the real champion and how they had finally compromised on taking it together.

Both Ron and Hermione stand behind Harry with their hands on his shoulders to give comfort while Harry relived what had happened.

The other students saw Harry and Cedric arriving in the graveyard and Wormtail killing "the spare." The Hufflepuffs are quietly crying as they see how Cedric had died. They knew that Harry hadn't done it but it was still extremely sad to see it happen.

The memory continued on through Voldemort's re-birthing ceremony and Harry's subsequent fight to get away, including seeing the ghosts of Cedric and his parents. All of the females were crying at this point and even the males had a few tears leaking out of their eyes.

The memory moved on to Harry getting back to Hogwarts and his attempted kidnapping by the polyjuiced Crouch, Jr. They are startled to learn that they had been taught by a death eater that entire year. Only the Slytherins managed to keep their emotions from exploding when it was shown that both Dumbledore and Harry tried to tell Fudge about how Voldemort was back and he ignored them.

After the students calm down enough to hear, Hermione told them "We are going to take a few minutes for break. Please don't hesitate to request a restroom or for Dobby to bring you some refreshments if you need them."

The students could see her worried looks at the hunched over Harry. Hermione and Ron pulled him over to a corner and sat him down. They let him cry it out and tried to comfort him as much as possible. Even Draco couldn't help but be sympathetic. He had never had a classmate die in front of him while helpless to do anything. Potter was taking this much better than he would have.

It took about twenty minutes for Harry to gather himself again and return to the table. "I am sorry for breaking down like that in front of you guys."

There murmurs of "Quite alright Harry." and "No problem mate, would have done the same thing."

Harry sent them a grateful glance that they weren't making a bigger deal of it.

"So that brings me to this year and Umbitch." said Harry with a grim smile. There were a few snickers at Harry's nickname for their most hated defense professor.

"Most of you, except for the Snakes, know what has been going on this year." Harry turned to the Slytherins to explain.

"Hermione and Ron convinced me to start a defense club for the students and teach them what I know since Voldemort is back and Umbitch wasn't teaching us anything. We had a meeting every week here in the Room of Requirement and went over such spells as stupefy, the patronus charm, expelliarmus, and more. I received several detentions with Umbitch for not relenting on my story of Voldemort's rebirth. She made me write 'I will not tell lies' with a quill that used my own blood as ink."

The Slytherins paled at this as Harry showed the scar that is now permanent on the back of his hand. They had no idea that Umbridge had been using a Blood Quill! Those were entirely illegal unless used in Gringotts to sign contracts! How had she gotten a hold of one?

"The reason why I didn't invite the Slytherins is that I figured you either wouldn't want to come or would not be able to keep it quiet from the rest of your housemates. Sorry."

The Snakes murmured their acceptance of his apologies. They would probably have done the same thing if they were in Potter's place so there were no hard feelings.

"Now," said Harry in trepidation. "For what happened this morning and what caused me to ask you guys to come here today. I think it would be easier if I just showed you in the pensieve. It would be better than trying to recite what went on. I have already done that and it is a lot to talk about."

Harry put the memory of this morning's confrontation in Dumbledore's office in the pensieve and projected it for everybody to see. The students perked up eagerly. They knew that something had gone down for all of their classes to be cancelled but no one had any idea why.

As the memory progressed, the students become more and more shocked by what they are seeing. Fudge trying to arrest Dumbledore for treason? That was ridiculous! Even Draco knew that Dumbledore would never do something like that!

The students broke out into angry protests when they discovered that Fudge was planning on appointing Umbitch as the new Head of the school. Harry let them rant for a few minutes before holding up his hands for silence.

"I have someone to introduce you to before we move on. Lady, if you wouldn't mind?" he called to a dark corner of the room.

The students are startled to see a female move out of the shadows and come up to the table to sit down with them. "Guys, I would like to introduce you to the physical representation of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

A few of the students snickered, thinking Harry was making a joke. The others though, could see the serious look on his face.

"Good afternoon." murmured Hogwarts.

"She will be taking over the explanations for now as it is her story to tell." said Harry.

The students who had been snickering, quieted down when they realized that, no, this wasn't a joke and they had better shut up before they get themselves in trouble.

"I will begin with a little history lesson," stated Hogwarts. "This will give you some background information on the founders, what they did, and how history has been skewed all out of proportion."

Hogwarts told them of the founders and how they had created the school and why they were worried about the government back then. She explained about Slytherin and what he really felt about muggleborns and how he did not want pure "blood" he wanted pure of heart which had been mistranslated a hundred or so years after Slytherin's time.

The Snakes looked extremely startled at this information. If this was true, then Slytherin House's reputation was based on lies!

She told them of how the founder's decided to create the Founder's Charter and make the school sentient so that she would be able to be woken and activate it if there was ever the need. She mentioned that Fudge wanting to appoint a ministry employee as the new Head had awoken her and that was what the rumbling had been that they might have felt that morning.

A few of the students nodded in recognition. They had felt that faint rumble but didn't think much of it at the time.

She went on to tell them of how she had looked for information on why she had been awakened. She explained how she had discovered what was going on and how she was required to pick a new Head from the available pool of professors and students only and what the consequences would be if she didn't. She went over how she had searched through the professors files and why she had not chosen one of them nor why she didn't want Dumbledore to be reinstated as the Headmaster.

She once again reiterated her list of requirements for a new Head and why she had made them. However, before she could actually announce who she had chosen for the new Head, she was interrupted.

"You chose Harry, didn't you?" asked Luna with certainty in her voice.

Hogwarts sent her a pleased smile and said "Why yes Ms. Lovegood, I did!" Harry merely sheepishly nodded his head.

Everybody but Luna and the trio were shocked speechless but recover quickly. "WHAT!"

Hogwarts continued her explanation by going over the same reasons she had told Ron and Hermione about Harry and what he had done over the years. Once again, the students fell quiet.

Draco had a blank look on his face when he asked "So what does this have to do with us?"

Harry jumped in to explain how he will accept the position but he wants their help so he can make informed decisions. They will help him to research what changes need to be made and what their effect on the school would be. That is why the trio had decided on four students from each house and from all different backgrounds. Everybody will be able to contribute on how they think Hogwarts should be run.

The students sat back to think over the proposition when Harry noticed Malfoy gesturing for him to join him in the corner. He went over to hear what he had to say.

"Potter," said Draco with some confusion in his voice. "I want to know why you chose me to be part of this group. We both know that we hate each other!"

Harry smiled at this. "Malfoy let me tell you something I have noticed over the past few months." He told him the same thing that he had told Ron and Hermione about what he had noticed about Draco over the past few months. Draco is shocked. He hadn't thought anybody had noticed his change in behavior!

"I also know that if I am to have any of the remaining pureblooded Slytherins allow me to remain as Headmaster and follow what I want to do, I need to have someone they trust on my side already. You are one of the most prominent purebloods and I believe that you could convince them to allow me to make changes without alienating them completely. Plus, you would know better as to what they will accept or not when it comes to the changes we come up with. Does that make sense?"

Draco looked thoughtful and had to agree with Potter's reasoning. "But will you actually listen to what the other students and I, namely the snakes, have to say or will you completely disregard it?"

Harry looked offended. "Of course I will! But if you have an idea that is completely out there you will need to have logic and evidence to back it up and sell it to the rest of this little council, okay?"

Draco agreed and they head back to the conference table. There, the other students have obviously made up their minds. They all told him that they will be happy to help him and Harry thanked them in relief. Harry decided right then and there that he was going to do everything he could to help Hogwarts. It was his home and if accepting the Headmaster position helped him to protect it and make it better than he would do it! He turned to Hogwarts.

"Lady Hogwarts," questioned Harry. "Will we have time to come up with some ideas if I agree right now or will the professors and others know immediately of the change?"

"I can hold off anybody knowing for twenty-four hours but that is all." she stated firmly.

Harry looked to the rest of the students and asked "Do you guys mind being holed up in here for the next twenty-four hours researching and brain-storming?"

All of the students nodded their heads eagerly. They wanted to get started on trying to change Hogwarts for the better.

"Lady Hogwarts," stated Harry firmly. "I believe I will accept the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Excellent Harry!" called Hogwarts as both of them began to glow. The glow got brighter and brighter until it abruptly shut off.

"Whoa," called Harry in amazement. "I can feel the weight of the wards and everything that is going on in the school now!"

After a few minutes Harry shook his head and seemed to pull himself back to awareness. He turned back to the table and faced everybody sitting around it.

"Let's get this party started!" he called with a grin.


	3. Researching

**A/N:** I realize that this is a short chapter compared to the last two but I think the next chapter will more than make up for it. Please don't hesitate to send me your ideas on classes. I admit that I already have quite a few in mind, but if I like it, I will try and use it!

Don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter!

**Chapter 3 – Researching**

The students settled down around the conference table with whatever paper and writing implement they preferred. Harry stood in front of his seat and began the meeting.

"Alright," he said. "The first thing we need to do is get an idea of where Hogwarts is now and how it compares to the other schools. I am aware of both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang but I know that there must be more out there."

"Actually," said Draco. "The first thing you need to do is figure out how you are going to work around the Hogwarts Board of Governors because they will try and block any changes you try and make."

"Draco has a point Potter," said Daphne. "There is no way that the Governors will be willing to work with you and make the changes that you seem to be wanting."

"That has already been taken care of," called Hogwarts in satisfaction. "I have already disbanded them and so they will no longer be a problem."

"What?" called several people in shock.

"What you call the Board of Governors," explained Hogwarts. "Is in reality an organization that doesn't really exist. It started as a group of parents that got together in concern over how the school was being run. The ministry kept reinforcing the idea and giving them more power over the school but never could make it official. Therefore, when I woke up, I disbanded them being as they were never an official part of the school in the first place. And even if they were, the activation of the Charter would have gotten rid of them anyway."

The students looked happy at this news. That was one less obstacle to have to deal with!

"Very well than," said Harry. "I think the first thing we should do is tell you guys about What Ron, Hermione and I came up with earlier. We thought that having a council of students that was elected by their house would help immensely. It would bring in new ideas and allow the students to feel they have a say in what goes on in their school."

"I can understand the reasoning behind the thought Potter," said Daphne with a small frown, "But have you considered what will happen if the same students get elected over and over? Or whether they will use underhanded tactics to get the other students to vote for them?"

"You might end up with a situation similar to the current Ministry." called Susan with a scowl. She, through her aunt, was much more aware of how the ministry actually worked compared to how it was supposed to work as compared to most people.

"Well," said Ron in consideration, "One of the checks that we thought of was that students would be elected each year. There would be two representatives from each house. One from the fifth through seventh years and one from the first through fourth years. However, a student could only be elected twice, once from the lower years and once from the upper years. So the only possible consecutive elections would be a student in fourth and fifth year."

"Not bad Weasley," said Draco with a thoughtful look. "As long as you can keep the students monitored to make sure they are not trying to bribe others or use any sort of intimidation to 'encourage' votes, that system sounds like it could work well. The purebloods would probably get behind it as they'll probably consider it as good training for when they take over their house seats on the Wizengamot."

"I can definitely see how it could work very well," stated Blaise with a nod, "Just be prepared to make some changes to the system through the years for any unforeseen problems that may develop."

"Good," said Harry as he exchanged pleased looks with Ron and Hermione.

"Now, we need to get a hold of the records for the past few hundred years or so including grades, point totals and who gave them and took them away, current and past lesson plans for all years, and the birth rates compared to acceptance letters. These will give us an idea of what is going on with the school and if there are any changes that need to be made."

Harry turned to Hogwarts and asked "Can we access those through the Room or do I need to go to the Headmaster's office or something?"

"You should be able to request them from the room being as you are the new Headmaster." stated Hogwarts with a smile.

Harry thinks hard about what he requires and a huge pile of paperwork and files appeared on the table.

Hermione chimed in "Harry, we might want to request all the information we can get about the other schools while we are thinking about it."

"That's a good idea Hermione," Harry said and turned to Hogwarts again. "Can we get that kind of information here at the school?"

Hogwarts frowned a little and told him "I can only get what is available to the public such as class lists, OWL and NEWT scores and total number of students. I can't get any private files as you would need to go to the actual schools and request them yourselves."

As she finished talking, a bunch more paperwork and files appeared on the table. Thankfully she had thought to expand it as it was now overflowing.

"That should work for what we need," Harry said with a smile before he turned back to the students. "I think we should break into groups to cover all the information we have. Everybody pair off into groups and each take a topic. That should get us through this mess in as little time as possible hopefully."

Harry closed his eyes and requested several smaller tables around the large conference table so that the groups would not be encroaching on each other's research. After a few minutes the students had settled down at their respective tables and started going over the information.

Over the next hour or so, gasps could be heard around the Room although no one told anybody else what they were gasping about. Finally, it seemed that everyone was done and they all gathered back around the main conference table.

Harry could tell that the news would be bad. Everyone had a look of shock and/or dismay plastered on their faces. "Alright people. Tell me what we are dealing with." he said.

Padma stood up. "Harry, my group and I covered the class lists at Hogwarts for the past few hundred years or so. Harry its bad! So many classes have been dropped that we are surprised that Hogwarts is still considered a school!" she exclaimed with a frown.

"From what we can tell, after getting together with the group who was going over the grades, a class was cancelled after the purebloods' grades started to drop consistently and the halfbloods and muggleborns started outperforming them. Granted, it seemed to take a few years for this to happen and may not be the actual reason but the pattern is consistent with all of the classes." Padma sent the purebloods an apologetic glance.

"Once we noticed the pattern, my group and Hermione's group covering grades decided to combine and see what we could discover. Hogwarts was once considered the best in the world but is now only ranked twenty-third out of twenty-six of the large population schools throughout the world. It drops to eighty-seven of ninety-three if you count the smaller population and specialty schools. This is mainly based off of the classes available and the grades that the students received in those classes."

It was here that Harry noticed most of the students looking enraged. Their parents and relatives had been paying for a top education that they weren't receiving and they were extremely angry at that fact!

Padma continued on. "The International Confederation of Wizards apparently couldn't do anything about it yet because the ministry has kept the bare minimum of standards for Hogwarts to continue to operate. The ministry also imposed the no magic during the summer rule. This hurts the muggleborns and muggle-raised like yourself as they can't practice their magic during the summer while the purebloods and wizarding-raised continue to do so. This allowed the purebloods' grades to rise while the muggleborn grades dropped which is what they seemed to have been aiming for."

Padma sat down to exclamations from the other students. Harry gave them a few minutes to quiet down before he called for silence. "Does anybody have anything to add to this?"

"I do Harry," said Hermione as she stood up. "I looked it up after requesting some articles from the room and found that Britain is considered a laughing stock in the international community because of their old-fashioned ways and prejudiced education. I have never been ashamed of attending Hogwarts but I am starting to feel that I should be now."

While the other students conversed with each other over what they had just learned, Harry tried to console Hogwarts as she looked like she was about to cry. "Don't worry Lady! We will get you back up to your rightful place as the premier school for magic in the world! Isn't that right guys?"

Both Harry and Hogwarts received some very firm nods of agreement. There was no way they were going to allow their school to be ranked at the bottom of that list! And to be laughed at by the other countries? No bloody way in hell!

"It's time to move on," said Harry firmly over the talking that was still taking place. "Who wants to tell us about the birth rates and acceptance letters?"

"I'll take this one Potter," said Daphne as she stood up. "According to the records, Hogwarts is getting only a very small percentage of acceptance letters compared to the number that is mailed out. The problem we are seeing is that too many near-squibs are being born to the purebloods, barely any muggleborns are accepting based on the price of tuition or they just don't believe the letters are real, and the halfbloods generally end up moving away from Britain."

Hermione stood up looking hesitant. "I might have some theories on the near-squibs that are being born based on some research I did after Harry found out that Argus Filch was a squib and why the halfbloods are moving away."

Harry sent her an amused glance and told her "Of course you have a theory. Go ahead Hermione."

"I think that the purebloods are breeding themselves out of existence," she blurted out in a rush. "Hence why there are so many muggleborns."

Hermione had to pause to let everybody's reactions finish. She understood what a shock this was and knew she would have to prove herself to overcome the disbelief.

"If you look at the birth records from ages ago, you will see that the rates of births between purebloods, halfbloods, and muggleborns were about equal. This is when the families that were considered 'pure' were still marrying the occasional halfblood or muggleborn to get new blood into the family line."

"However, once the whole pureblood rhetoric became… popular for lack of a better term, the birth rates became uneven. The pureblood families were only producing one or two children at most that could be considered magical while the number of squibs rose drastically. Because there were fewer numbers of the children that could be considered born of magical families, 'magic' itself I guess, seemed to have compensated by creating more and more muggleborns so that magic would not die out."

"I believe that if the older families were to go back to the old ways of marrying halfbloods and muggleborns every few generations or so, than the rate would eventually even out again. Hogwarts was built to house thousands of students because that was what was predicted it would eventually need to house and yet the school currently only holds just short of five hundred or so students this year."

"I also requested and looked at the data from other countries to compare. Britain's wizarding world seems to be the worst but many of the other European countries have the same problem. Too many squibs being born to the purebloods while muggleborn births keep rising. However, if you look at places like the United States where they don't really have the pureblood beliefs that Britain has, you will see that the numbers are pretty much even across the board."

The purebloods from all of the houses looked shocked. "Can you prove this?" asked Draco with an intent look on his face.

"No," stated Hermione. "But I have an excellent example right in front of us."

"What?" questioned a confused Draco.

"The Weasleys," said Hermione with a smile towards her friends. "The Prewitt's, who are Molly Weasley's family and the actual Weasley family itself continued to marry halfbloods and muggleborns throughout the years. They now have seven fully functional and rather powerful children and yet the Malfoys and Blacks combined made one child."

"You, Draco. If you were to marry Pansy Parkinson, who you are rumored to be engaged with, than you _might_ produce one magical child of average or lower power but definitely no more than that. Harry is another good example of this. The Potters consistently married from all 'blood' types and produced Harry, who is arguably the most powerful person at this school with Dumbledore gone."

"As for the halfblood problem, and this is going to become obvious soon, there is a smaller and smaller pool of halfbloods and muggleborns to marry. With the way Britain's wizarding world is prejudiced against them including jobs and marriage, these people are moving away from Britain which leaves us a smaller population and less of the people who are willing to bring change to the world. I can back it up with what research I have that shows that the more the laws discriminate against the halfbloods and muggleborns, the more they move away, and the less there has been new developments in spell and potion creation and ideas in general. The last major muggleborn contribution was the Knight Bus and Wizarding wireless and those were almost fifty years ago. There have also not been any new spells developed in the last one hundred years or so. And before Professor Snape came along, and he is a halfblood, no new potions had been developed in about seventy years. Basically, the wizarding world of Britain is stagnating."

"Like I said, it's only my opinion but it seems to fit the facts. I can provide the records and information that I accessed to come up with these theories if anybody wants to check my work."

Hermione sat down and breathed a sigh of relief. There! She had gotten her theory out there for the others to think about without being shot down immediately.

"Well," said Tracey. "It's an interesting theory and seems to fit the evidence but I think that we would need to do a little more research before we can confirm that that is the problem. We are definitely going to want to get someone to go more in to depth on this though."

Daphne nodded her head firmly. "Except for myself and a few others, most of the pureblood students are only children. If this is the reason why then we are going to have to take a hard look at the way Britain handles it's population and find a way to change it. It won't help Hogwarts or Britain in general if we don't have the students to teach in the first place."

Hermione nodded her head in agreement. "I would expect that others would look into it first. I only had access to just a few records. I am sure that there are many out there that I would not be able to see that someone else might be able to. I fully believe that others need to look into this before declaring valid or invalid. In a few years or so, if one of us doesn't do it than we might want to look into hiring a research team to go over everything and trying to prove what is true and what is false. I would definitely start though in the next several years. Thanks to two wars back to back and my possible theories, Britain's population, including students, is at an all-time low and we can't afford to let it decrease much more or Britain won't have a sustainable population."

There were nods of agreement from everybody. The purebloods were frowning though. If Hermione's theories proved valid then they needed to start working on a solution immediately.

"That brings me to my next topic," said Harry. "I think that we need to make a list of things that we feel should be done to bring Hogwarts back to her former glory. Hermione's theory fits in with the first thing I had in mind. How to bring in more students. Without students, Hogwarts cannot be considered a school. Does anybody have any ideas?"

"Well," said Susan. "Does anybody know how the letters are sent to the muggleborns? I mean, how do the professors know there are muggleborns to send them to?"

"Good question. Lady Hogwarts?" said Harry as he turned to look at the school.

"There is a book," stated Hogwarts. "That is tied to the school and the island of Great Britain. Every time a child exhibits accidental magic, their name appears in the book and what year they will be allowed to attend Hogwarts. Every year the Deputy Head consults the book and creates a list of names for letters to be sent out."

"Wait," called Hermione with a frown. "You are telling me that Hogwarts and the professors here knew about me since my first bout of accidental magic at the age of three? Why wasn't someone sent to explain what was going on to my parents then? It would have given my parents a sense of relief instead of wondering what was wrong with me!"

"And what about the children whose parents are religious or scared," called Harry with an angry look. "They may end up sending the child away or even abusing them! Or what about the parents who throw away the first few letters believing they are a joke? Do they send a professor for everyone or was I special because I am Harry Potter?"

"It seems to me," said Terry with a small frown on his face. "That we need someone that does nothing but monitor the book and visits the parents as soon as accidental magic is recorded. If the child is already part of the magical world, then it won't be a problem, but if the child is a muggleborn or maybe even halfblood, the monitor will be able to see what type of parents the child has and whether or not they will accept the child's magic. If it looks like the parents will react badly, the monitor can get child services involved and maybe convince the parents to give the child up for adoption to a magical family."

There were excited murmurings at this. Hannah spoke up, "That's a great idea Terry! I am sure that there won't be that many that will actually need child services and so it shouldn't be a problem to find magical parents willing to adopt!"

Daphne chimed in. "The monitors would also be able to leave contact information for when the parents have questions or to request help in reversing some of the accidental magic that will occur in some cases. We could also have a few books or small pamphlets made up that would give some basic history and information on the magical world."

"That is a good idea Daphne," stated Harry with a smile. "However, there is one thing we need to address. While Voldemort is going about it in a very bad way, he does have a few points."

The other students looked completely shocked. They couldn't have been more surprised than if Harry came out and said that Umbridge was the greatest professor in the world!

Harry laughed as he raised his hands in protest. "The looks on your faces! But what I am talking about is the number of muggles that are aware of the magical world through the muggleborns and their relatives. If we let this continue, sooner or later, the information is going to get to a muggle that would be willing to do something about it and the Statute of Secrecy would be blown wide open."

"Huh," commented Hermione in amazement. "I never thought of that! I don't have anybody besides my parents so it was never an issue, but for someone like Dean Thomas, who has an extensive family, then they probably tell quite a few people."

"Exactly," said Harry. "So what I am proposing is this: the first time that a muggleborn child has a bout of accidental magic, the monitor will go and meet the parents. He or she will bring with them the books and pamphlets charmed to be unreadable by anybody who is not already aware of magic. They will also bring a copy of a contract that we will ask the parents to sign. It will be explained to the parents as a way for them to not talk about the magical world for fear of putting us all in danger and we will tell them that they need to sign for all of their protection. Do you agree with this?"

The purebloods looked relieved at this solution. That had been one of their worries about so many muggleborns being allowed to come to Hogwarts. But Harry's solution seemed to take care of that problem nicely. The muggleborns and halfbloods had to think about it for a few minutes but generally agreed that it was a good idea. Most of the parents would be willing to sign to keep their newly discovered witches and wizards safe and the parents who didn't want to could be convinced or have wards set up around the house to monitor the family.

"Excellent," called Harry with a grin. "And speaking from experience, we might want to consider stationing someone on the muggle side to the entrance of Platform 9 and 3/4. I know that if the Weasleys hadn't come along, I would not have known how to get on the platform. The person could hold up a sign for Hogwarts or something that would let the parents and students know to go to them. If any of muggles have any questions they could just be told that they are waiting for a group of students."

"I think it is a great idea Harry," said Hermione. "It would relieve the minds of the parents that show up to have someone directing them where to go."

"Good," said Harry with a pleased smile. "That takes care of the new students issue. Now on to tuition. Does anybody have any ideas?"

"I might have an idea Harry," said Justin. "As you know, I am a muggleborn and my parents are moderately wealthy. My dad runs his own business but my mum spends her time running several charities. My idea is to set Hogwarts up as a kind of charity. We'll ask for donations from the wizarding world and throw the money in a fund to be managed by someone to help it grow. It can be used for scholarships and to pad the school's budget when needed. The scholarship students could be asked to donate a little once they have graduated and gotten a job. Let them know that the money would be going back into the fund that paid for them to go to school. This way the money would keep regenerating itself and would be able to be used over and over. What do you guys think?"

The students could be seen with thoughtful looks on their faces. They couldn't see anything inherently wrong with the idea; the problem would come from getting the donations in the first place.

Blaise decided to speak up. "I think the key to getting the donations would be to run it like a charity like Flinch-Fletchley mentioned. Maybe have a few charity events like a ball or Quidditch matches. Some of the older families would delight in hosting a charity ball for Hogwarts if only for the prestige that would come with it, while quite a few of the pro-Quidditch players would love to get together at their old school and have a game. It could even become an annual event like a few matches during the summer and a ball during the winter break."

"That would probably work very well," said Susan with a smile. "My aunt has wanted to try something similar so that she could try and raise funds for her aurors but Fudge would never allow it if it isn't lining his own pockets."

Ernie chimed in. "We would need to send someone to Gringotts to ask about what would be needed to set this up and who would run it. My recommendation is to allow one of the goblins to do it. They would be able to invest it wisely and everybody knows they are all about profit which would benefit us greatly."

"The problem," said Luna. "Would be finding someone they would be willing to work with. It would have to be someone that the goblins don't already have a problem with and already has a lot of money in the bank so that they are a valued customer. Harry would be our best bet. He is also the new Headmaster so that would add to the respect shown to them by having Harry come himself instead of sending one of his 'underlings.'"

The other purebloods looked at Luna in amazement and new respect.

"What," she said. "Just because most people consider me 'Looney Lovegood' does not make me stupid. I am in Ravenclaw for a reason."

"Before we move on to the next issue," called Anthony. "I have an idea. In the muggle world, quite a few of the schools have what is called sliding-scale tuition."

Almost everybody looked confused. They had never heard of this concept.

"What that means," said Anthony with a smile at the confusion. "Is that tuition is based on how much your parents are earning in their wages or how much they already have. I think another big reason we don't get acceptance letters from a lot of the students is because of how much it costs to attend and the families of these students can't afford to send their children here. However, if the lower-income families like the Weasleys," it was here that Anthony sent an apologetic glance at the red-faced Ron and Ginny. "Only had to pay what they could afford while students like Malfoy and Harry paid a little more than it should all equal out in the end."

The students were hesitant to agree to this idea. Padma spoke up to voice their fears. "I think that it is a great idea Anthony however, the problem will be getting the more wealthy families to agree. We can definitely try though. It would be worth it if it worked. Maybe if we include all of the students' supplies like books, robes, potion ingredients, and other assorted things they might find the idea more workable. That way the only thing that a student would have to purchase is a wand."

"It's definitely something to think about," said Harry. "And would be an excellent motivating factor for families that can't accept the tuition requirements. Let's move on to the next idea."

"Since we seem to be moving through a student's journey to Hogwarts in a linear manner," stated Ginny. "I have an idea. I was sitting here and thinking about how much the muggleborns and muggle-raised don't know about the wizarding world and it came to me."

"Why not have orientation classes the summer before they start first year? It could tell the students about the wizarding world and show them around Diagon Alley so they are not as lost. Maybe teach them some basic vocabulary and tradition so they don't inadvertently embarrass themselves and become frustrated. We could have two teachers for the class; a muggleborn that has already graduated and a pureblood that could give the reasons why things are done that way and a few etiquette lessons."

The purebloods looked thoughtful while Harry and the rest of the muggleborns and muggle-raised looked envious. "I would have loved a class like that!" they all called.

"It might eliminate some problems between the purebloods and muggleborns," stated Draco with a small frown of remembrance. "They would have an idea of why we act the way we do and say the things we say. I like it and I think the others will as well. Good job!"

"Continuing in the vein of a student's journey to their first day of class," said Harry. "I think that we need to schedule full health exams for the first years. It would allow the healers to get a baseline comparison for later on and the muggleborns would be able to receive their magical vaccines against things like Dragon Pox and other assorted magical diseases. This physical would also allow us to catch any health related problems from normal things like general health issues to abuse that may have been missed by the monitors."

"That's a great idea Harry," said Hermione in excitement. "I have heard of muggleborns getting sick with a magical disease because they slipped through the cracks and never received their magical inoculations when they first got to the magical world!"

"I also have an idea," called Ron. "We might want to change the uniforms. I am not talking about taking away robes completely but maybe making them more like open cloaks over a uniform of pants or skirts, a white-collared shirt and a tie. It would make it easier for the students to move around and be more comfortable in classes like DADA and Herbology."

"The students would love that," called Ernie. "I know I would!"

The students all laughed and nodded their heads. It would be great to not have to try and work around the heavy cumbersome robes they now had to wear.

"I have an idea Harry," Hermione called with a smile. "I think we need to provide a 'map' for the first years to get around. It would show where all of the major common points are like the classes, the great hall, and their common rooms and would help the first years find the quickest routes to those areas. I know I got lost many times in my first year and could have done with one."

"But… But," Harry paled and stuttered. "Hermione! I can't use that map! There would be students getting into so much trouble from the very beginning!"

The rest of the students sat there in confusion while the trio argued.

"He's right Hermione," muttered Ron with a grimace. "Remember what the twins did with that map? It would be a nightmare!"

"That's not exactly right," huffed Hermione. "I was thinking that we should contact Sirius and Remus and help to break it down to make a more simplified map that wouldn't show everything like that one does. It would certainly help the first years and we could take out all of the 'extra' things before giving it to them."

"Potter," barked Blaise in exasperation. "What the bloody hell are you three arguing over? A map?"

The trio exchanged looks and Ron said "If you make them promise it should be okay."

Harry hesitated a bit before pulling out the blank map that he had been caring since the DA meeting earlier and turning to face the other students. "I need an oath that you will not tell anybody what I am about to show you."

The others looked hesitant but eventually agreed and made their oaths.

Harry took his wand out, enlarged the map to cover the table, and then tapped it and said "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

The students watched in amazement as ink began to appear and the whole of Hogwarts was shown in detail including all of the footprints of people walking around.

"Merlin," Draco called. "Here is the Slytherin common room. And that is our password in that bubble floating above it!"

Luna leaned over and was looking at the Ravenclaw common room. "Do these footprints represent the people that are currently in the school Harry?"

"Yes Luna," Harry said with a smile. "Each footprint corresponds to the name above it and is in real time. It also shows the passwords for basically everything including the secret passages around and out of the school."

"This is amazing Harry," said Susan as she was pouring over the map. "But I don't see any of us on here?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "And you won't until we can figure out how to add them. The map is missing a few places because the makers weren't aware of them when the map was made. It doesn't have the Room of Requirement nor does it have the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. The Room is magical and isn't really there until it is required and the Chamber is not under the wards of Hogwarts I believe." He said with a questioning glance at Hogwarts who nodded her head in confirmation.

"This is the map that Hermione wants to use as a basis for the first years. We would get the makers to help us recreate a simpler version that didn't have all of the 'extra' stuff that they won't need. But first we need to contact them and see if they will help."

"You know who made this Potter?" Daphne asked in disbelief.

Harry gave a sad smile and stated "The Marauders did. Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail." He said that last name with disgust.

"Those names sound familiar," mumbled Terry. "Where do I know them from?"

"From our third year," said Ron. "Moony is Professor Remus Lupin, Padfoot is Sirius Black, Prongs was James Potter, and Wormtail is that traitorous bastard Peter Pettigrew. They made the map while they were attending Hogwarts."

The students could do nothing but stare at Harry in shock.

"Your dad made this while he was a student?" gasped Hannah Abbott.

"Yeah," mumbled Harry as he stroked the map. "With the help of his friends. I am pretty sure he managed to somehow tie it in to the wards here at Hogwarts. It's one of only two things I have from my dad."

Hogwarts engulfed Harry in a hug and told him. "Your dad and his friends worked on it for over a year with the help of your mum. They made their own ward and tied it into the existing Hogwarts wards so that it would take the information from them if need and it was all tied to that map right there. If the professors had known about it they probably would have graduated them on the spot. They had to pull from everything they had learned at Hogwarts to make this and it is a work of art."

The students kept quiet as they watched Hogwarts try and console Harry. After a few minutes Harry sat back and gathered himself. "So you see, while it is a good idea, three of the five members can't help us in remaking the map so we might not be able to use it. But if we can it would be a good idea for using with the first years."

The students could only nod their heads dumbly. Merlin, they had never seen anything like this and to have had students made it while attending school? Astounding!

"Harry," Justin said quietly. "I have an idea we might want to use but I am not sure whether it will be accepted or not."

"Go ahead Justin," nodded Harry. "We can always talk it out and see."

"Well," he began as he sifted nervously. "You all know that I am a muggleborn and one of the things I find most irritating about the wizarding world is quills and parchment."

There were several nods of agreement from the halfbloods and muggleborns while the purebloods looked mildly offended.

"I am sorry to offend you," he said while looking at the purebloods. "But tell me you haven't had trouble keeping all of your notes together because they are all written on loose sheets of parchment, or a bottle of ink has spilled and ruined your homework, or your quill broke even though you just bought it. Everybody has these problems whether they want to admit it or not."

They all muttered in annoyed agreement.

"What I was thinking," he seemed to gather himself for protest. "Was that we start allowing the students to use muggle notebooks and pens for taking notes and keeping subjects organized. If the teachers don't like having homework turned in on muggle paper than we could just have students write their essays on parchment again but be able to keep their notes in their notebooks."

The pureblood students looked a little confused and hesitant while the halfbloods and muggleborn looked excited as the started to whisper to their neighbors.

"Flinch-Fletchley," called Blaise. "Do you have an example of what you are talking about so that we can see it?"

"Of course!" he said in excitement. He then screwed up his face in concentration before a stack of notebooks and pens appeared on the table in front of him. He handed each student a notebook and pen and proceeded to explain.

"These are what the muggles use," he told them. "Each notebook contains usually around two hundred sheets of paper all lined for easy writing. They are also bound together so that they can't fall out but do leave a way for a student to easily rip the sheet out without destroying it if they need to."

The halfbloods and muggleborn were calmly flipping through the notebooks while the purebloods inspected them. Justin demonstrated by flipping and throwing the notebook around without any of the pages falling out. He then opened one and showed the purebloods the edge of the paper and how easy it was to rip one out if so desired.

"Now for the pens," he said with more confidence now that his idea hadn't been immediately dismissed. "The best thing about these are their size which are a lot smaller than quills and easier to handle, their composition which is made of muggle plastic and extremely hard to break, and the fact that they have ink already inside them, so no need to carry an ink well around with you."

He pulled out a pen and showed how easy it was to start writing immediately. The purebloods were amazed and the uniformity of the writing and that he never once had to stop to dip it to get more ink. There were also no ink blots from it dropping off of the pen. They also noticed how the lines on the paper made it extremely easy for him to write straighter and in small enough size to get a lot of information onto one sheet. He then showed them how even if he bent with all of his might he couldn't break one.

Justin encouraged them to grab a pen and just start writing notes like they would in class and see how it went. They started off slow but were soon scribbling away in their own notebooks. Mutters of astonishment were heard at the ease at which these items made everything.

"And another thing," Hermione piped up as she rewrote all of her notes from this meeting so far. "Pens come in an extraordinary amount of colors which makes it even easier to organize information in your notebooks. I asked the room for more colors while you were demonstrating and can show you what I mean."

She passed around her notebook that she had been writing in. It had the meeting broken down by sections of what they had talked about and each person had been written in a different color. "It makes it very easy to go back and reference something when writing an essay if you know that the information is in one color instead of having to read through everything again."

The purebloods marveled at the notes. They had never seen anything like this! It was very convenient for students to keep their notes this way but they were still unsure.

"The problem," said Daphne with a small frown. "Is getting others to agree with this. While I and the others here can definitely see the benefits, many won't agree with us and will refuse to use it."

Justin looked crushed but before he could say anything Terry spoke up. "So don't try and force them on anybody."

"What?" Daphne and the others asked in confusion.

"What I am saying," he said with a shrug. "Is to make them available to everybody but don't force them on people. The muggleborns and most of the halfbloods will immediately accept them and start using them. Those that refuse will begin to notice how much easier it is for those students to do their homework and become interested. They will most probably ask another student to explain and might then ask for their own notebooks and pens. Let the students talk themselves into using them. It will be easier in the long run and Harry and the other professors won't seem like the bad guys for forcing them to use something they don't want to."

"That's a brilliant idea guys," Harry beamed at Terry and Justin.

"That might work," Draco said slowly as he thought about what had been proposed. "The more traditional purebloods will have a choice and won't resent it if they aren't made to use something they are not used to. I vote we go with that." he said with a shrug.

"Good," said Harry with a smile. "Now if nobody has any more ideas we should probably move on to the actual school itself. I think the first thing that needs to be done is to call in a few warders and curse-breakers to go through the school looking for anything that shouldn't be here and to update the wards. I know that a thousand year old basilisk should not be at a school with children and I am sure that there are other things here that shouldn't be."

The other students nodded their heads fervently. There was no way they wanted to go to a school that contained things like a basilisk!

"We could go to Gringotts and hire a team from them," said Ron in excitement. "I am sure my brother Bill would love to be involved in something like that!"

"Are you kidding," snorted Ginny. "He would get down on his knees and beg for that chance!"

The students snickered as they pictured a grown Weasley getting down on his knees to beg to go through Hogwarts trying to find things for him to work on.

"While we are going through the school," murmured Harry with a grimace. "We might want to send a team of hunters through the Forbidden Forest to cull some of the things found there. I realize that we can't completely remove all of the dark creatures but some of them have grown out of proportion to the rest of the forest."

"Like the spiders!" shuddered Ron in remembered horror.

"Spiders?" called several students in confusion.

Ron was still shaking and pale so Harry tried to explain. "There is a huge colony of acromantulas in the forest. Their numbers reach into the hundreds and they are giving birth to more each year."

The other students paled and shouted "WHAT?"

"We found them in my second year and that is all I am going to say on that," stated Harry in a firm voice. "But it would definitely be a wise idea to send a team through the forest."

The students were still pale as the nodded their heads. There was no way in bloody hell that they wanted a colony of that many acromantulas near a school!

"Moving on," Harry said with a worried look at Ron. "I think we need to discuss the rules of the school and punishments assigned for infractions now. I feel that we need to get a group together and research all of the rules and see if the still apply in today's world. We also need to add more rules if they are needed."

"The punishments need to be updated too Harry," said Luna with a frown. "Especially for things like bullying, racism, and prejudiced comments. The school needs to be seen as a safe place for its students and it can't be done if the students are getting bullied or they see someone else getting bullied. Neville and I are an excellent example of that."

Neville blushed red as Draco had a pink tinge on his face.

"I completely agree with you Luna," said Harry with a frown. "We will definitely be looking into the punishments that are handed out for these things."

"Thank you Harry!" said Luna with a dreamy smile.

"And that brings me to my next idea," said Harry with a grimace. "I think we should get rid of or at least modify the house cup so it is not as significant."

The students gaped at Harry and as they stuttered in trying to come up with a response to this out-of-the-blue declaration.

"No offense guys," said Harry quietly. "But the house cup doesn't really mean much in the scheme of things. It just adds to the competition and segregation of the houses and all we really get out of it is our colors posted during the leaving feast and a few bragging rights on the train home that year."

"We could probably come up with a better way of doing things if we tried," said Harry. "That way the houses will have less of a reason to fight and compete with each other."

"Harry," said Hermione in astonishment. "That is brilliant! Why haven't you told me of this idea before?"

"It was just something I have been thinking about." said Harry with a casual glance towards the Slytherins and Draco Malfoy in particular.

Hermione caught on quickly and nodded her head in agreement.

Ron couldn't speak. _'No house cup,' _he wondered to himself in confusion. '_But what will we compete over each year?'_

"What did you have in mind Potter?" asked Anthony with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Well," Harry settled in to explain his radical idea to the students. "Instead of a house cup, why not have 'Best of…' cups for each year. That way, students are competing on an individual level and won't have problems with their house if they want to make friends with students from another house."

"Points could be assigned and taken away based on individual performance instead of the house as a whole. That way, situations like when Ron and I got penalized fifty points for doing something stupid in first year, would only have affected me and Ron and not Gryffindor as a whole."

"These cups could include everything from classes, to clubs that form as a result of the new classes, and even to Quidditch and other sports. For example, at the end of the year each professor could award a cup for the best student in their class in each year along with cups like most improved, best class project, and more." Harry explained.

"Ooh," called Hermione as she scribbled down everything Harry was saying. "And if people really wanted to keep the House cup going, it could be awarded based on which house's students earned the most awards. The House cup would still be important but not enough to force students to isolate themselves in their houses for fear that it could affect their chances at the one cup that is currently offered."

"Exactly!" commented Harry in glee.

The students had stopped gaping at Harry and appeared to be considering the idea. It was definitely against tradition but it did seem like it might be a good way to do things. Some students were already considering what types of clubs they could form (like charms, herbology, transfiguration, chess, and more) and who they knew should be in it, including students from other houses.

A few of the students meanwhile were going over what would have to be done if this idea was implemented. They realized that, while there would be a little more work involved, if it saved the professors from having to break up both intra- and inter-house squabbles, it would be worth it.

"While I can see where you are going with this," said Ginny with a concerned look. "I don't see it going over real well with the students. The Gryffindors in particular really won't like it."

"We could combine the ideas," called Ernie. "I mean that we could start with the individual cups and see how the students take to them and if it works maybe later on down the line we could try changing the house cup to fit?"

"I think that would be best," said Ron. "I don't see the students liking the house cup just being taken away like that. Giving them some time to get used to the new idea first would probably be a lot better."

All of the students nodded in agreement, some harder than the others.

"I think Harry," said Hermione with a frown of concentration on her face. "That with all of the things that are going to be changing, you are going to need some assistants to help you with paperwork and such. You also might think of hiring a Deputy Head that does not have full time classes to teach. It creates way too much paperwork and responsibilities to put on just one person."

"I was thinking about that too," said Harry. "What do you guys think of this: I hire an assistant for me, the Deputy Head, and all of the Heads of Houses? They would be able to take care of the smaller things leaving the bigger issues to be dealt with by the Heads."

The students thought it over and had to agree with him. That was going to be a lot of paperwork to deal with and only one person to do it.

"Harry," piped up Neville with a nervous look at the Slytherins. "You might want to think about auditing the teachers. I know of several teachers that do not really teach anything in their classes like Trelawney and Binns."

"That's a good idea Nev," mused Harry. "Maybe hire some assistant professors or journeyman to cover the younger years and leave the professors to teach only the upper years, especially since we are hoping to get so many students next year. We would need to create a list and research what the qualifications should be for a professor and assistant professor so that we don't end up with someone like Lockhart again."

All of the females but Luna blushed as the boys sneered in their opinion of the ponce that had taught them in Harry's second year.

"Ooh," said Padma. "And maybe set up a tutoring program for those students who need a little extra help!"

"That would be great," said Neville in relief. "I know there are a few of us that could really use the extra help. I didn't start to understand Defense until Harry started the D.A. and then I caught up quick."

There were agreeable nods from the others. They had all needed a little extra help a time or two throughout the years and most of the time the professors were too busy to help just one student.

"Now my question is," Harry said with a thoughtful look on his face. "If we are going to have so many professors around to do patrols and things, do we really need the prefects and Head boy and girl? The students are already going to have elected council members so do we really need them?"

"I don't think you will be able to get rid of them right away," said Padma with a shrug. "But seeing as they really won't have anything to do, they could probably be slowly phased out in the next few years."

"That would be your best bet," said Neville. "Once the students realize that they don't hold much power anymore they will quickly drop the idea I am guessing."

"Well that takes care of that," said Harry with a smile. "Can anyone think of anything else to add before we move on to the classes themselves?"

The students exchanged glances and shook their heads. "We can't think of anything Potter." said Draco.

"Let me go over the list that we have so far." said Harry as he looked down at the piece of paper in front of him.

**Administrative Changes**

**Board of Governors** – already taken care of

**Student Council -** begin implementing

**Research records of Hogwarts and other schools** - done

**Grades and dropped classes** – to be continued

**Birth rates** – more research needed

**Book monitor** – develop method and assign people

**Magical Contracts for muggleborn parents** – research what kind of contract and implement

**Donations for scholarship fund (set up like a charity)** – talk to Gringotts

**Sliding scale for tuition** – research and talk to parents and Gringotts

**Orientation class for muggleborns and muggle-raised** – develop program and implement

**Full health exams for first years** – hire mediwitches and healers to implement

**Maps for first years** – consult Marauders over map

**Notebooks and pens **– research cost and implement plan

**Improving and updating school wards** – talk to Gringotts about consulting

**Curse-breaking team sent through school** – talk to Gringotts about hiring team

**Hunter team to cull Forbidden Forest** – research who we can hire

**Review rules of school** – assign team to begin going over

**Harsher punishments for bullying, racism, or prejudice** – research and develop for implementation

**House Cup and/or Best of… Cups** – Combine and see if accepted before making further plans

**Administrative assistants** – review what is needed and start researching CVs.

**Auditing professors and hiring junior professors** – research what is needed and develop audit program

**Tutoring program** – design and implement

**Head Boy/Girl and prefects** – slowly phase out over coming years

"That seems to be everything," muttered Harry after looking over his list once again. "I guess it's time to move on to the fun stuff!"

"Classes!" chanted the students with huge grins on their faces.


	4. Brainstorming

**A/N:** I have a poll for this story. It asks whether or not I should have Voldemort's horcruxes be included. Please let me know what you think by voting. The poll won't be closed for a while so no rush.

I will be posting the class list as one story if anybody wants to reference it for whatever reason.

Don't forget to leave a review!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 4 – Brainstorming**

"Well," began Harry. "I think the first thing we need to do is make a list of all of the classes that are offered at the other schools and see what we get. If a class like potions is offered at more than one school than just keep a count of how many schools. We should also note which year the class is offered and for how long. How about each of us take five or six schools and write down every class that is listed, okay?"

There were nods of agreement from the students as they all got up and grabbed the lists from the table. A few mutterings were heard and the occasional "Whoa, I want to take that class!" but otherwise everyone worked in silence for the next twenty minutes or so.

When it looked like everybody was done, Harry stood back up. "I am assuming that everybody finished with their lists correct?"

"Yep… Uh huh… Yes… Yeah." was heard around the table.

"Hermione," said Harry with a grin. "Since I know that you like doing these kinds of things, I am going to ask you to write the master list as we all call out the classes from our lists. I'll start."

It took another half an hour before they were done. They worked their way around the table with each student calling out the classes, what year they were taken, and how many schools offered them. There had been some confusion when they began to get into classes like Shamanistic magic in North America, Incan magic in South America, and Druidic magic in Ireland. Once the master list was complete, the students all sat back in amazement.

"Harry," called Hermione. "There are hundreds of classes here that I have never even heard of. Hogwarts offers eleven classes. The lowest number any of these other schools besides Beauxbatons and Durmstrang offers is in the upper twenties!"

"We have our work cut out for us then," said Harry with a grimace. "Thankfully, a lot of these classes would be useless in Britain. Maybe we could offer a general study elective and group them under the title 'A Study of Magic Throughout the World' or something."

"That's actually not a bad idea Harry," said Luna. "We could call it World Magic and make an elective for those students that would be interested in studying the magics used in other countries."

"Great," said Harry with relief. "That takes care of a good number of them. What's next?"

"Well," said Padma in some confusion. "One of the trends I noticed was that the schools cover the basics like Potions but as the student gets into the higher years, branches of that basic class are offered. As an example I will again use the potions class. A student will have to go through the basic potions class but then may take classes like Healing Potions, Offensive Potions, Defensive Potions, and Potion Creation."

Harry noticed several of the other students looked interested in this, namely Hermione, Draco, and the Ravenclaws.

Harry sighed in resignation. "I think what we are going to have to do is move through this list logically. We'll start with first year and create a class list for Hogwarts and then move on through consecutive years as we go on. Does that seem like a good idea to everyone? I think it will save us a lot of time and confusion in the end."

"Before we do that," called Ginny as she turned to Hermione. "Hermione. Weren't you telling me about some sort of consler in your muggle school?"

"Consler," murmured Hermione in confusion. "Oh, you mean a counselor? Oh, that would be an excellent idea Ginny! In muggle schools, the students are assigned what they call a guidance counselor who helps the student with anything related to the school including academics, clubs, and sports. They help a student plan their school life, figure out what they want to do once they graduate, help them find solutions when they are having trouble in class, and more. A guidance counselor would sit down with a student and help them plan their schedule so that they could make sure that the student takes all of the classes they would require for whatever job or career they were interested in."

"That would be a good idea," said Blaise in consideration. "We all know that our Heads of Houses are really busy and don't have the time to focus on just one person like that all year long. It would give the student a sense of relief to know that they had someone they could go to if a problem arises in class or something."

"Excellent idea Hermione and Ginny," exclaimed Harry. "Now, let's start with the first years. Daphne would you mind writing the first year class list down? And Tracey, could you write a list of classes that we may need to research more before we add them to the lists?"

"I can do that Potter." said Daphne while pulling out a fresh new notebook and pen that she had been convinced to use. There was a nod from Tracey as she did the same thing.

"I can think of two classes off of the top of my head," said Hermione firmly. "The first one would be an English class to teach writing essays, study habits, and good note-taking skills. The second class would be a Latin class to help people understand the names of spells and classifications of plants and animals."

"That's not a bad idea," said Ron. "I don't know about anybody else but I had no idea how to write an essay before I came to Hogwarts and definitely had no idea as to why certain spells were called what they are."

The other students nodded their heads in agreement and Daphne wrote them down under first year.

"We'll need a beginning class for all the main subjects," said Tracey. "But we should include more theory and explanations as to why and how the spells are to be performed. That way the students will have a better grasp on what they are being asked to do. I know that I always struggled with the practical side of the spell work until I could get Daphne to explain it to me in simpler terms."

Quite a few of the students nodded their heads fervently. They remembered how they had sometimes struggled with a spell until a friend could explain it better to them in terms they understood.

"I have a question," called Hannah. "Should we create a general magical theory class or just let the individual classes talk about it?"

"I think that it would be better to leave it to the individual classes," said Terry. "The professors could explain it in relation to the class instead of a general overview that a student would then need to try and fit into a specific class area."

"Makes sense to me!" called the rest of the students as Daphne again wrote all of it down.

"History," said Harry with a frown on his face. "What are we going to do about it? I don't think we should just focus on wizarding history but instead have a wizarding/muggle combination class. First and second year could cover Atlantis up until the fall of the Roman Empire. It would show people how each world affected the other throughout the years and how often the co-mingled back then."

There were nods of agreement from all but the Slytherins. "I don't think that the other purebloods would like that." said Tracey.

"I think we should try though," said Harry. "It might show everybody that up until recently, the wizarding world didn't isolate itself completely like it does now. Plus it will demonstrate why we have some of the laws that we currently do."

"Potter's got a point," stated Draco. "We should at least try so that the muggleborns will know why we have the Statute of Secrecy and other things."

Daphne wrote all of this down but put a star next to the history class as one they may have to revise later on.

"So what about the big one," asked Ron in anticipation. "Defense Against the Dark Arts. We definitely need to do something about that one. It is ridiculous how we have a new professor for that class every year."

Harry frowned. "I am hoping that when the team of curse-breakers goes through the school, they might be able to find out whether or not the position is actually cursed and if so, break it so that we may have some good professors come in and stay for a while. Another idea was to see if moving the class somewhere else might help. I would actually like to go ahead and change the name of the class. But it depends on what the curse-breaking team finds when they get here."

"Why would you want to change the name Potter?" questioned Blaise with a confused look on his face.

"Well," Harry said as he settled in to explain, "I believe that just calling it Defense Against the Dark Arts is kind of stupid. It's like learning how to make an antidote to a poison. However, if you don't know anything about that poison, can you really be sure of things like is it really a poison or is this antidote really the most effective counter against it. If we don't know anything about what we are supposedly defending against then how can we be sure that we are doing the most effective thing?"

"But… but Harry," Ron sputtered. "You want us to learn the dark arts? Are you bloody crazy?"

"No Ron," Harry said, giving him a patient look. "But I do want to students to be able to understand why something is considered a dark art and what those hexes and curses do so that if they are confronted with them they will know if a shield will work or should they dodge, etc. I don't want them to be caught unaware and end up getting hurt."

Ron had a grumpy look on his face but grudgingly, nodded his head.

"It is a good idea," said Tracey with a nod. "A lot of the so called 'dark arts' are only classed that way because they require so much power or various other reasons. Not necessarily because they cause harm to a person."

"And since we do actually learn about more than just defending in that class, you might want to consider calling it Offensive/Defensive Magics." Said Hermione with an excited grin. She loved the thought of learning more about the hexes and curses used even if she might never use them herself.

"You also might want to consider incorporating a physical fitness aspect," said Susan thoughtfully. "The majority of wizards do not have the stamina to duel longer than ten to fifteen minutes. I know my aunt has a physical portion in her auror training program. The trainees are expected to keep up with it by themselves once they graduate and become official aurors."

"I like it," said Anthony with a shrug. "The problem is convincing everybody to go along with it. Maybe if we offer some incentives like games of color tag and mock duel tournaments to showcase how well the students are improving?"

"I think that could work," said Harry. "Hopefully the students will start realizing how much more stamina they have to duel and will continue to work harder at it. And this is where learning about the dark arts comes into play. It doesn't help anybody to be involved in a duel or fight and not know what the opponent might throw at you."

"Maybe include a section on the ministry classification and how it came about and the history behind it." said Hermione with a smile.

"Great," said Harry with a grin. "Can anyone think of anything else for first year?"

"I have an idea," said Neville with a hesitant look on his face. "I was thinking that instead of just having muggle studies we could have classes for both sets of students. Sort of a wizard studies for muggleborns and a muggle studies for purebloods."

The room seemed to be divided in half in their reactions to this idea. The muggleborns and a few others looked agreeable to this but the majority of the purebloods didn't look to sure.

"I don't know Longbottom," said Blaise with a frown. "That would be really hard to convince the other purebloods of the benefit."

"It could be made mandatory," said Harry with a small frown of concentration on his face. "I do like the idea but we would need some way to bring them together so that the students don't feel like we are trying to convince them to live as the opposite of what they are used to."

"Maybe we could have the classes meet once a week and debate on the different topics," said Tracey. "It could be a compare/contrast kind of thing. Like when each class discusses transportation, the debate could be the pros and cons of each and which they think is better and if the muggle version could be incorporated into the magical world. Things like that."

"That could be good," said Hermione with a smile. "I am sure that there are several things that the magical world would love to have once they find out about it like computers and phones."

"It wouldn't hurt to try it out," said Draco. "The most they could do was say no and refuse to attend or something to that affect. I am sure that you are going to be constantly revising these classes and schedules the first few years anyway. I know most of the older families would like the muggleborns learning why we have the traditions we do instead of just ignoring them or calling them old-fashioned. If you use that as your excuse they may be willing to concede going to a class on learning about the muggle world." He shrugged to show that this idea could go either way in its acceptance.

"What about doing some field trips Harry?" Justin asked with a grin. "I know that muggle schools do them all the time. They take their students to significant places that correspond to what they are studying at the time. You could either have the individual classes go or have a combined field trip for both."

The students broke into excited chatter. It would be nice to go to the places and see them after they had discussed them in class. It would help to put things in perspective.

"It would require a lot of organization and effort on yours and the schools part. You would need to set it up with the location ahead of time and get permission from parents. You may not be able to do that immediately but possibly further down the road once the classes are more established and have had all the problems solved." said Hannah with a small smile. "I would definitely put it in the research more category for right now though."

"Very good," said Harry. "Moving on. What about Astronomy? I do not like the fact that the students are kept awake until one in the morning on the day of class. It messes up their sleep schedule and causes the students to be sleepy for the following day. Is there any way we can change this or set up something else? And should it even be mandatory?"

"I never really had any uses for it," shrugged Ron with a thoughtful frown. "It really only applies to specific areas like rituals, potions, and maybe some creatures but that is it. Now if I was going to be a potions master I would really need that class but if I was going to be an auror than I don't see me really using it so having to waste time for five years in a class that I am not going to use is kind of ridiculous."

There were general nods of agreement from the other students.

"So we should make it an elective than," asked Daphne as she scribbled all of this down. "Maybe starting in the higher years when we get to the more specific classes that might need it?"

"That makes sense." said Terry.

"We could also maybe use the Room of Requirement for the student's use," questioned Luna. "Or maybe alter the ceiling in the great hall to reflect the night sky during the day so that the students won't have to be up at night?"

"Good idea," exclaimed Harry. "But I don't like the thought of all of the students finding out about the Room of Requirement. It would cause too many problems for the professors and staff. Maybe we could work with the ceiling in the great hall." Harry turned to Hogwarts with a questioning face. "Lady Hogwarts, is there any way for us to change the ceiling in the great hall to reflect different views so that a class could be held there?"

"It wouldn't be a problem at all," said Hogwarts with a smile. "I can show you the notes that were left by Rowena Ravenclaw about how to affect the ceiling's charms."

"What about Herbology," questioned Neville. "While I enjoy the class immensely, I will also be making a career out of it. Most people won't ever encounter these plants again, so having as a mandatory class doesn't really work very well."

"Again," said Blaise. "It's like Astronomy in that it is really only needed for very specific careers in the wizarding world so having it as mandatory doesn't really work."

"Perfect," said Harry. "I think that means that we have our first year classes. Daphne, would you mind showing us what we have?"

"Sure Harry," said Daphne with a small smile. "This is a tentative class list and the descriptions I wrote about each class. Let me know what everyone thinks and whether or not you believe the descriptions fit."

Daphne took the paper that she had been writing on and expanded it before she posted it to the board that appeared after she requested it from the room. The other students looked it over.

**First Year Classes**

**Beginning & Introductory Level Courses**

**Introduction to English** – Reading and Writing (Essays, Reports. etc.). Will include vocabulary, sentence and paragraph structure, spelling, and effective study habits and note-taking.

**Introduction to Latin** – Reading, writing, spelling, and speaking. Students are given the basics of the Latin language to help comprehend spells and the classifications of plants and animals.

**Introduction to World History** – Will include both Wizarding and muggle history and how they affected each other in ancient times. Class will cover up to the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Dark ages.

**Introduction to the Wizarding World** – For the muggleborn and muggle-raised. This class will cover basic etiquette, traditions, and rituals observed in the wizarding world. Students will discuss everyday life things including their money and Gringotts, transportation, the ministry and their laws, etc. This class will interact with the Introduction to the Muggle World students once a week to compare and debate selected topics. Field trips may be taken to different locations throughout the year that have a bearing on what is being discussed at the time.

**Introduction to the Muggle World** – For the pureblood and wizarding-raised. This class will cover clothing, transportation, money, etc. Students are taught how to blend in if found in the muggle world. This class will interact with the Introduction to the Wizarding World students once a week to compare and debate selected topics. Field trips may be taken to different locations throughout the year that have a bearing on what is being discussed at the time.

**Introduction to Offensive/Defensive Magics** – This class will include a physical fitness program, emergency procedures, and basic creatures and curses. Students will also cover the spells they are defending against, the ministry classification system of Dark items, spells, and creatures and what caused them to be classified as Dark.

**Introduction to Charms** – This class will introduce the student to the study and classification of the spells known as charms. It will include magical theory, wand movements, and everyday simple charms.

**Introduction to Transfiguration** – This class will introduce the student to the study of transfiguration and will include the magical theory behind it along with wand movements and item-to-item association.

**Introduction to Potions** – This class will introduce the student to the world of potions and will include the rules of safety while brewing potions, ingredient reactions and preparations, and brewing simple potions for everyday life. This class will include effective note-taking for deductive testing and thesis work.

"It looks good to me," said Hermione with a grin.

"Brilliant," called Harry in excitement. "Now we can move on to second year. Padma, would you mind writing this class list for me please?"

"Of course not Harry!" called Padma as she flipped to a new page in the notebook after Daphne passed it to her and got ready to write.

Harry continued on with his line of thought. "I don't really see a need to change anything about the rest of the classes from first year," said Harry. "Except make them a little harder. They would still be covering the 'basics' just at a slightly higher level. This year could prepare the students to move into their intermediate years which would be the third, fourth and fifth years."

"There is one problem that I foresee," said Harry with a frown. "The majority of the classes that the other schools offer that Hogwarts doesn't involve electives geared towards a student's future career and maybe some hobbies they might be interested in. The problem is that most of the muggleborns and muggle-raised have no idea of what careers and jobs are available to them once they leave Hogwarts. I myself was only aware of teacher, healer, auror, and shopkeeper/owner and that didn't change until very recently. We need to do something about that."

"We could have a class that does nothing but teach the students about the careers available to them," called Ginny in excitement. "We could make it mandatory that everyone attend. That way, when third year rolls around and it is time for a student to choose his or her electives they will have some idea of what they will need to take."

"And we could have guest lecturers," called Hermione. "My muggle school did it all the time. We could set it up with the different people involved in all of the major careers and have them send one or two people in to talk about what they do in an average day and what they had needed to know to get the job in the first place."

The students started to converse with each other excitedly. This was excellent! The students in second year would get an idea of what the various jobs were and what was needed to apply. They wish they had had a class like this before they chose their electives for third year!

"Does anyone feel that we need anything else or will this be good for the second year," said Harry. "I don't feel that we should load the students down because they will be starting their elective classes in third year and that might overwhelm them."

"I agree with Harry," said Daphne. "I don't see the point in adding more classes than this in second year when they are going to be allowed to choose their electives for next year. We should just keep it simple for second year."

The other students voiced their agreements. Harry then asked Padma to go ahead and show what she had written down.

"Give me a minute Harry," she muttered as she continued to write. "I am almost finished with the descriptions."

"Take your time Padma." said Harry with a smile.

After a few minutes, Padma sat up and called "Finished!" She then enlarged the list and posted it next to the first year list that was still on the board. The students looked it over for anything they felt might be needed to be corrected.

**Second Year Classes**

**Beginning & Introductory Courses – Second Level**

This year will be a continuation of first year in helping the students master the basics of all of the disciplines.

**Introduction to English** – Reading and Writing (Essays, Reports. etc.). Will include vocabulary from the Wizarding and Muggle worlds, sentence and paragraph structure, spelling, and effective study habits and note-taking.

**Introduction to Latin** – Reading, writing, spelling, and speaking. Students are given the basics of the Latin language to help comprehend spells and the classifications of plants and animals.

**Introduction to World History** – Will include both Wizarding and muggle history and how they affected each other in the past. Class will cover the Dark ages and the beginnings of the split between the muggle and wizarding worlds.

**Introduction to the Wizarding World** – For the muggleborn and muggle-raised. This class will cover a more in depth look at the etiquette, traditions, and rituals observed in the wizarding world. Students will discuss the ministry and how it affects them, and several more extensive topics. This class will interact with the Introduction to the Muggle World students once a week to compare and debate selected topics. Field trips may be taken to different locations throughout the year that have a bearing on what is being discussed at the time.

**Introduction to the Muggle World** – For the pureblood and wizarding-raised. This class will cover a more in depth look into muggle life and will discuss things like the muggle government and other assorted ideas. Students will be taught how to hold a casual conversation with a muggle if caught unaware. This class will interact with the Introduction to the Wizarding World students once a week to compare and debate selected topics. Field trips may be taken to different locations throughout the year that have a bearing on what is being discussed at the time.

**Introduction to Offensive/Defensive Magics** – This class will include a physical fitness program. Students will begin to learn how to use common jinxes, curses, and hexes as well as how to shield from them. The class will also go more in depth on the creatures they might encounter. Students will continue to cover the spells they will be defending against as well as the ministry classification system of Dark items, spells, and creatures and what caused them to be classified as Dark.

**Introduction to Charms** – This class will introduce the student to the study and classification of the spells known as charms. It will include magical theory, wand movements, and the slightly more complex charms one might use in everyday life.

**Introduction to Transfiguration** – This class will introduce the student to the study of transfiguration and will include the magical theory behind it along with wand movements and item-to-item association. Students will start to move in to more complex transfigurations including larger inanimate items to smaller inanimate items.

**Introduction to Potions** – This class will introduce the student to the world of potions and will include ingredient reactions and preparations and brewing more complex yet still basic potions for everyday life. This class will include comparative studies on benign versus dangerous ingredients and how potions are affected by them and the continued education of deductive testing and potion creation.

**Careers in the Wizarding World** – This class will introduce the student to the numerous jobs and careers available to them once they graduate from Hogwarts. This class will periodically have guest lecturers in attendance to talk about their jobs.

"Perfect," called Harry. "Now we can get to the good stuff! It's time for third year and the electives!"

The students all cheered at this news. They couldn't wait to see what classes they were going to be able to introduce!

"But first," said Harry. "We need to get the basics out of the way. Ernie, would you mind writing the third year class list please?"

"Not a problem!" called Ernie with a grin. He pulled out some parchment and started to write down the basic classes and an updated description.

"I want everyone to be thinking about the electives while Ernie finishes up writing the descriptions." called Harry.

"First question should be whether we keep the English and Latin classes," said Hermione. "I feel that we need to keep them but maybe we could combine them into one class?"

"I could see that being helpful," said Justin. "I know that in the muggle world English classes continue all the way through college so there is definitely something to be taught at higher levels and not just the very basics."

The students nodded in disgruntled agreement.

It took a few minutes, but Ernie finally called out "I'm ready!"

"Let's get started then," said Harry. "Who wants to go first?"

"First," called Hermione. "We need to establish how many electives the students will be allowed to take. We don't need a repeat of my third year!"

Harry and Ron snickered while the others just looked confused until they remembered Harry telling them about the time-turner Hermione had in third year to take all of the courses and then they joined in the laughter.

"Well," said Hannah. "The students are required to take all of the basic courses which number seven. I was thinking that since this year the electives will be the basics for the classes offered later on we won't need that many. So maybe keep it to three or four?"

"I think that three should be the maximum," said Susan with a worried frown. "We don't want to overwhelm the students and cause them to burn out."

Hermione nodded fervently as Harry and Ron laughed.

"We should definitely keep the electives we have now," said Draco. "They are a good grounding for a lot of classes that we are thinking of offering especially Runes and Arithmancy. I am hesitant about keeping Divination though."

"I think we should keep it," said Padma with a small frown. "We could keep it as a general elective for people who want to learn the history and methods used but anything beyond that first year, the student will need to be tested to see if they have the talent for it. There is no point in continuing the classes if the students are not going to be able to use what they learn."

"I like that idea," said Harry. "It will allow the students to see what Divination is about but they won't have to keep taking it if they don't have the talent or get bored with it."

"So that leaves us with six classes already," said Ron. "Since Muggle studies became mandatory. We have Runes, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Herbology, and Astronomy. I also have an idea for everybody. I know we haven't discussed it yet but I am assuming that we will be creating more sports for people to participate in correct?"

"I am pretty sure that was what everyone was thinking yes," said Harry in confusion. "Why?"

"Well," said Ron with a grin. "I remember how overwhelmed you got Harry when Oliver was having practice four days a week. What if we allow a student to substitute one elective for participation in a team sport? They must be an official member of the team or one of the reserves but it would allow the students to practice without having as many classes to worry about. What do you guys think?"

The other students seemed to be considering the idea. It made sense. A lot of students were going to want to play on one of the teams and if they had too many classes their grades might start dropping when the practices started to intensify.

"I like it," said Draco with a firm nod. "I had the same problem as Potter when it came to Slytherin team practices and I remember getting a little frantic trying to keep up with my studies. I think we should allow it."

"Good job Ron," said Harry. "What else?"

"We should definitely have one or more classes geared towards the creative side," said Luna. "Maybe a class for the arts and one for music. I know several students who draw or play the piano and complain because they either have no class teaching more methods or no instrument to practice on over the school year."

"Ooh," called Ginny. "That would be a great idea. I have heard Dean Thomas complaining because he wants to be an artist after he graduates but Hogwarts doesn't have a class that allows him to perfect his drawing."

"So," said Harry. "Maybe have a general Arts and a general Music class?"

"Sure," shrugged the students.

"Later on," said Terry. "We can offer more specialized courses if we find a need for them."

"That makes six classes," said Ernie after looking at his list. "I think we should offer a few more."

"I think that third year would be a brilliant start for that World Magic class we were talking about earlier," called Harry. "If a student was really in to it, that would give them four years to study it if they wanted to."

The students voiced their agreements while Hermione and the Ravenclaws looked extremely excited over the thought of that class.

"Harry," piped up Neville. "I have an idea for a class."

"Sure Neville," said Harry with a gentle smile. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well," said Neville with a blush. "I was sitting here thinking about all the classes and how much I might have a problem remembering all the information in them when I remembered my Remembrall from first year. I got to thinking about how it would only let me know that I had forgotten something but not what I had forgotten. This led me to the thought that maybe someone would be able to improve it to show what I was forgetting. So, I came up with an item creation or modification class that could lead to an enchanting class in later years."

The students stared at Neville in shock. That was an absolutely brilliant idea! Why hadn't they thought of it?

"That was brilliant Nev," exclaimed Harry in excitement. "We could start off with simple materials like wood, metal and glass, and show students how to make something specifically for enchanting later on!"

Neville blushed even harder at the looks being sent his way. He hadn't known that it was such a good idea! He had just wanted to see if people could improve his Remembrall!

Harry grinned at Neville's blush before turning back to the table. "I think that should be enough for third year. The classes we have will provide a good grounding for the later electives, don't you guys think?"

The students nodded their heads excitedly. The classes they had come up with were brilliant!

"Ernie," asked Harry. "Are you finished with the list?"

"Yep!" said Ernie as he levitated the list, enlarged it, and posted it to the board.

**Third Year**

**Intermediate Levels**

**Intermediate English/Latin – **Students will continue to learn about the English and Latin languages including reading in writing in both languages, vocabulary from the Wizarding and Muggle worlds, sentence and paragraph structure, and spelling.

**Intermediate World History** **–** Will include both Wizarding and muggle history and how they affected each other in the past. Class will cover the Middle Ages and their impact on the relations between wizards and muggles.

**Intermediate Wizarding World Studies** **–** For the muggleborn and muggle-raised. This class will cover etiquette, traditions, and rituals observed in the wizarding world. Students will discuss the ministry and the laws that affect them, and several more extensive topics. This class will interact with the Muggle World Studies students once a week to compare and debate selected topics. Field trips may be taken to different locations throughout the year that have a bearing on what is being discussed at the time.

**Intermediate Muggle World** **Studies –** For the pureblood and wizarding-raised. This class will cover a more in depth look at the methods muggles use to get around their lack of magic. Students will start to discuss the basic technology that the muggle world uses. This class will interact with the Muggle World Studies students once a week to compare and debate selected topics. Field trips may be taken to different locations throughout the year that have a bearing on what is being discussed at the time.

**Intermediate Offensive/Defensive Magics** – This class will include a physical fitness program. Students will to learn how to use more common jinxes, curses, and hexes as well as perfecting their shields. The class will also cover more of the dangerous creatures they might encounter. Regular duel tournaments will also begin this year. Students will continue to cover the spells they are defending against as well as the ministry classification system of Dark items, spells, and creatures and what caused them to be classified as Dark.

**Intermediate Charms** – This class will continue to cover the study and classification of the spells known as charms. It will include magical theory, wand movements, and more complex charms.

**Intermediate Transfiguration** – This class will continue to cover the study of transfiguration and will include the magical theory behind it along with wand movements and item-to-item association. Students will start to move in to more complex transfigurations including small animate to animate transfigurations.

**Intermediate Potions** – This class will delve more into the world of potions and will include ingredient reactions and preparations and brewing more complex potions for to be used for medical and household purposes. Students will begin to create their own potion journals with their testing and modifying of potions.

**Third Year Electives**

A maximum of three classes will be allowed.

Students will be allowed to substitute participation on an official sports team for one elective.

**Introduction to Herbology** – This class will introduce the student to the magical plants found in the wizarding world. It will also cover the similarities and differences between magical and muggle plants.

**Introduction to Astronomy** – This class will introduce the student to Astronomy and its study of the stars and planets. It will cover the basic names for the planets and their moons, the creation of a star map, and the rituals that astronomy has been involved in over the years and why. Class will take place in the Astronomy classroom and the great hall.

**Introduction to Runes – **This class will introduce students the study of ancient runes. It will cover the ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Norse runes and provide the basic meanings and how to draw them on paper. Students will keep a runes notebook of meanings for reference and to provide practice in writing and drawing the runes. Notebooks will be turned in at the end of the year as part of a student's final grade.

**Introduction to Arithmancy – **This class will introduce the student to the world of magical math and how it is essential for spell development and modification. Students will be taught how to solve simple math problems and how it may affect the spells they use in everyday life.

**Introduction to Divination – **This class will introduce the student to Divination and its practices. It will cover the history behind it and the methods used to See. The class will include practice with several of the main methods used including palmistry, crystal ball gazing, tarot card reading, and tea leaves.

**Introduction to Magical Creature Studies – **This class will introduce students to the world of magical creatures. The class will begin with the smaller, more common creatures like crups, kneazles, and owls and teach the students about their habitat and how to care for them.

**Introduction to the Arts – **This class will introduce the students to the visual arts to include painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, etc. Students will receive instruction and practice in the various methods of creation but may focus on one area if teacher is convinced of their talent or previous experience.

**Introduction to Musical Studies – **This class will introduce the students to the musical arts to include piano, violin, singing, etc. Students will receive instruction and practice in the various methods of music but may focus on one area if teacher is convinced of their talent or previous experience.

**Introduction to World Magic – **This class will introduce the student to the various magics practiced throughout the world to include Druidic magic, Shamanistic magic, Blood magic, Necromancy, etc. Students will be required to keep a notebook listing the various similarities and differences between them to be turned in at the end of the year for a grade.

**Introduction to Item Creation – **This class will introduce the student to the creation of items made specifically to be enchanted. The class will begin with simple materials like glass, metal, and wood. This class will cover how to create and carve items, which materials will work best for which purpose, and what tools will be needed to complete specific items.

"It looks great Ernie!" called Harry with a pleased smile. There were nods of agreement from the others as Ernie flushed pink.

"Thanks Harry!" said Ernie.

"And now we come to our first major issue when it comes to the new classes," said Harry with a frown. "Do we keep the current classes for fourth and fifth year or do we start adding more electives immediately?"

The students grew quiet at this question. They had no idea as there were pros and cons for both solutions.

After a few minutes of no speaking, Harry decided that they all needed a break to think things over. "How about we call Dobby and ask him to bring us some snacks? We can think about what we want to do while we are eating."

Harry received grateful nods from the other students, especially Ron, whose stomach had been growling for the past hour.

"Dobby!" called Harry.

Dobby popped into the room right next to Harry. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet and looked extremely excited to have been called. "What can Dobby do for the great Harry Potter sir?"

"Hey Dobby," called Harry with a pleased grin. "Would you mind bringing up some snacks for everybody? Get some help if you need it and remember that Ron is one of the people eating."

"Oi!" shouted Ron while the others laughed.

"Of course Harry Potter sir!" called Dobby with a grin.

"I mean it Dobby," said Harry sternly. "Get help if you need it, okay?"

"Yes Harry Potter sir." said Dobby as he seemed to droop a bit.

Dobby popped away to get their food as Harry turned back to the table. "So who wants to go first?"

"I will Harry," called Hermione. "I can already see several pros and cons. The major ones seem to be that if we continue with the classes that the students started in third year, they would receive a better grounding in their subjects, which would be used later on for the specialized electives."

"The problem," said Blaise. "Is that doing it this way would only leave two years for the specialized electives and I don't know if that would be enough time. I guess it depends on the classes we choose."

Before anyone could continue, Dobby popped back in with their food. He had several other elves with him and they were all carrying enormous plates filled with a variety of foods. They sat them down on the table and popped away.

Dobby was the only elf that stayed. He turned to Harry and stated "Harry Potter sir, food is served! Dobby asked kitchen elves to make snacks and brought it up here to Harry Potter sir and sir's friends."

While the rest of the students started to fill their plates, Harry told Dobby "This is excellent Dobby! Thank you for your help and thank the kitchen elves for us to please."

Dobby quivered with happiness. "You are most welcome Harry Potter sir! Please call Dobby if Harry Potter sir needs anything else!"

Dobby popped away and the only sounds heard for the next twenty minutes were of people chewing and forks clattering against plates. Padma, after seeing that most were done eating, decided to speak up.

"Continuing on," commented Padma. "I can see the benefit to both, so what we need to decide is whether or not we want the students to have a better grounding in the basics or more practice in the specific areas of study. I know that I would rather the students have a better grasp of the basics. They would be able to learn more of the specific areas later on if they want to continue to study it or if their job might require it."

"That's a good point Padma," said Harry with a thoughtful frown. "Do we know if most of the careers give on-the-job training? I mean, would the students need to know almost everything when they are hired or are they expected to learn as they go?"

"I think that most have training once a person is hired," said Susan. "I know that the aurors are expected to enter training no matter how good their NEWT scores were. I believe it is the same for healers to."

Ron piped up in between bites. "Bill told me that once he was hired as a curse-breaker, the goblins put him under a master who would teach him for the first few years until he was able to go out on his own."

"So," mused Harry. "It would seem that most jobs expect to have to train their newly hired people. That might be a good indication that we should focus more on teaching and mastering the basics instead of trying to almost push the students into a career early on. Agreed?"

There were several thoughtful nods. They had to admit that there was nothing wrong with keeping the same electives for a few years. It would give the students a chance to make sure that those classes were the ones they wanted to be in.

"Then we are all agreed," asked Harry as he scanned the table. "Keep the electives the same until after fifth year?"

The students voiced their agreements and Harry smiled. "Well that will make things easier. Who wouldn't mind writing the class lists for fourth and fifth year?"

"I'll do it Harry!" called Susan with a smile. She grabbed the notebook from Ernie and started to write down all the classes for fourth and fifth year.

"Now another question I had," said Ginny with a frown. "Is whether a student will be able to change their electives if they did not like or weren't doing well in their previous choices?"

"Hmm," mumbled Harry with a frown. "That is a good question. The problem is that the student would be behind the other students if we let them into the fourth year class without them having to take the third year class."

"Maybe that tutoring program could be helpful here," said Padma with a grin. "The student would have to arrange for a tutor through us over the summer and take a test on their first day back to pass the third year course otherwise they would not be allowed to take it."

"That sounds great Padma," called Ron. "But would the tutors be willing to give up their summer to help the student?"

"The tutors would probably have to be paid," said Draco with a frown. "And some families might not be able to afford that."

"For the students of lower income," muttered Justin. "We might be able to work out a fund or even ask if there are any students that want to be teachers and see if they would like the job as practical experience."

"Obviously," said Harry as he gazed around the table at the frowns. "That is going to be one of those things we need to research more to see if it would work."

The other students nodded as they tried to come up with a way that tutoring over the summer could be done.

"Why doesn't everybody take this chance to go to the loo and stretch before we start on the sixth and seventh years?" called Harry.

The rest of the students got up and started to move about the room. They had been in here for a few hours already and they still had a lot more to cover. It was definitely going to be along night!

About ten minutes later, Susan called out "Harry, are we keeping the wizarding world and muggle world studies classes?"

"Good question Susan," said Harry with a frown. "What do you guys think? I personally don't see a need for it past fifth year. The students will be studying for their OWLs and most of what we want discussed will have been covered by then."

"I don't know Harry," murmured Hermione in worry. "Wouldn't it be beneficial to continue the classes? Four years isn't really a lot of time to cover everything from both worlds."

"Yes Granger," said Draco. "But everything that would be taught would allow a student to pass a NEWT in Muggle Studies. And if you think about it, right now a student only gets four years of study in Muggle Studies and that is with an incompetent teacher. What would happen if that class had a muggleborn teaching it?"

"Hermione," said Luna patiently. "We are only trying to give the students a basic understanding of the different worlds not turn them into the subject they are studying."

"That does make sense." agreed Hermione.

"So everybody is good with dropping the wizarding and muggle studies after fifth year?" asked Harry.

"Yes!" the students called.

"Then I am done!" yelled Susan in excitement.

She waved her wand and floated a copy of the list over to the board and stuck it there. The students all gathered around it to see what she had written.

**Fourth Year**

**Second Level Intermediate Courses**

**Intermediate English/Latin – **Students will continue to learn about the English and Latin languages including reading in writing in both languages, vocabulary from the Wizarding and Muggle worlds, sentence and paragraph structure, and spelling.

**Intermediate World History** **–** Will include both Wizarding and muggle history and how they affected each other in the past. Class will cover the muggle Ages of Discovery, Reasoning, and Enlightenment along with the wizarding world Renaissance and what made this so dangerous for the wizarding world.

**Intermediate Wizarding World Studies** **–** For the muggleborn and muggle-raised. This class will cover etiquette, traditions, and rituals observed in the wizarding world. Students will discuss what will happen after Hogwarts and several more extensive topics. This class will interact with the Muggle World Studies students once a week to compare and debate selected topics. Field trips may be taken to different locations throughout the year that have a bearing on what is being discussed at the time.

**Intermediate Muggle World** **Studies –** For the pureblood and wizarding-raised. This class will cover a more in depth look at the methods muggles use to get around their lack of magic. Students will discuss the major technologies that the muggle world uses. This class will interact with the Muggle World Studies students once a week to compare and debate selected topics. Field trips may be taken to different locations throughout the year that have a bearing on what is being discussed at the time.

**Intermediate Offensive/Defensive Magics** – This class will include a physical fitness program. Students will to learn how to use some of the more uncommon jinxes, curses, and hexes as well as learning more dueling methods and when to use them. The class will also cover more of the dangerous creatures they might encounter. Regular duel tournaments will be scheduled this year. Students will continue to cover the spells they are defending against as well as the ministry classification system of Dark items, spells, and creatures and what caused them to be classified as Dark.

**Intermediate Charms** – This class will continue to cover the study and classification of the spells known as charms. It will include magical theory, wand movements, and more complex charms.

**Intermediate Transfiguration** – This class will continue to cover the study of transfiguration and will include the magical theory behind it along with wand movements and item-to-item association. Students will move in to more complex transfigurations including large animate to animate transfigurations.

**Intermediate Potions** – This class will delve more into the world of potions and will include ingredient reactions and preparations and brewing more complex potions to be used for medical and household purposes. Students will learn how to break down a potion into its component parts to figure out what it is and how to modify it. The students will continue to maintain a potion journal to record their testing and modifying of potions.

**Fourth Year Electives**

A maximum of three classes will be allowed. Students will be allowed to substitute participation on an official sports team for one elective. For a student to continue on in Divination, they must first be tested for the Seer talent. For those students who do possess the talent, they will be allowed into a special Divination course.

**Introduction to Herbology** – This class will continue to cover the study of the magical plants found in the wizarding world. The course will move discuss more dangerous varieties of magical plants and how to care for them in a greenhouse setting versus encountering them in the wild while still studying the muggle plant varieties.

**Introduction to Astronomy** – This class will delve more in depth into Astronomy and its study of the stars and planets. It will begin to cover the discoveries made recently on our galaxy. A student's star map will be continuously expanded and the students will discuss some of the rarer rituals that astronomy has been involved in over the years and why. Class will take place in the Astronomy classroom and the great hall.

**Introduction to Runes – **This class will introduce students the study of ancient runes. It will the European and Germanic runes and provide the basic meanings and how to draw them on paper. Students will keep a runes notebook of meanings for reference and to provide practice in writing and drawing the runes. Notebooks will be turned in at the end of the year as part of a student's final grade.

**Introduction to Arithmancy – **This class will introduce the student to the world of magical math and how it is essential for spell development and modification. Students will be taught how to solve more complex math problems and how it may affect the spells they use in everyday life.

**Introduction to Magical Creature Studies – **This class will introduce students to the world of magical creatures. The class will move on to the more benign species in the wizarding world to include unicorns, nifflers, hippogriffs, and other assorted creatures. The students will learn about their habitat and how to care for them or what to do if encountered in the wild.

**Introduction to the Arts – **This class will introduce the students to the visual arts to include painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, etc. Students will receive instruction and practice in the various methods of creation but may focus on one area if teacher is convinced of their talent or previous experience.

**Introduction to Musical Studies – **This class will introduce the students to the musical arts to include piano, violin, singing, etc. Students will receive instruction and practice in the various methods of music but may focus on one area if teacher is convinced of their talent or previous experience.

**Introduction to World Magic – **This class will introduce the student to the various magics practiced throughout the world to include Druidic magic, Shamanistic magic, Blood magic, Necromancy, etc. Students will be required to keep a notebook listing the various similarities and differences between them to be turned in at the end of the year for a grade.

**Introduction to Item Creation – **This class will introduce the student to the creation of items made specifically to be enchanted. The class will delve into the more difficult materials such as precious metals, stone, and specific types of wood. This class will cover how to create and carve items, which materials will work best for which purpose, and what tools will be needed to complete specific items.

**Fifth Year**

**Third Level Intermediate Courses **

**OWL Review**

**Intermediate English/Latin – **Students will continue to learn about the English and Latin languages including reading in writing in both languages, vocabulary from the Wizarding and Muggle worlds, sentence and paragraph structure, and spelling.

**Intermediate World History** **–** Will include both Wizarding and muggle history and how they affected each other in the past. Class will review the previous years' lessons and create a timeline of both wizarding and muggle history for reference.

**Intermediate Wizarding World Studies** **–** For the muggleborn and muggle-raised. This class will cover etiquette, traditions, and rituals observed in the wizarding world. Students will discuss what will happen after Hogwarts and several more extensive topics. This class will interact with the Muggle World Studies students once a week to compare and debate selected topics. Field trips may be taken to different locations throughout the year that have a bearing on what is being discussed at the time.

**Intermediate Muggle World** **Studies –** For the pureblood and wizarding-raised. This class will cover a more in depth look at the methods muggles use to get around their lack of magic. Students will discuss the major technologies that the muggle world uses. This class will interact with the Muggle World Studies students once a week to compare and debate selected topics. Field trips may be taken to different locations throughout the year that have a bearing on what is being discussed at the time.

**Intermediate Offensive/Defensive Magics** – This class will include a physical fitness program. Students will review all of the spells they have learned so far as well as their classification and the theory behind them. Students will also start to learn more battle spells and tactics. Regular duel tournaments will be scheduled this year and will include team dueling. Students will continue to cover the spells they are defending against as well as the ministry classification system of Dark items, spells, and creatures and what caused them to be classified as Dark.

**Intermediate Charms** – This class will cover the study and classification of the spells known as charms. It will review the magical theory, wand movements, and more complex charms that the students have learned in previous years as well as learning some of the more complicated charms.

**Intermediate Transfiguration** – This class will review the study of transfiguration and will include the magical theory behind it along with wand movements and item-to-item association. Students will also review the spells they have learned so far including inanimate to inanimate and animate to animate transfigurations.

**Intermediate Potions** – This class will review the potions they have learned about and will include ingredient reactions and preparations and brewing more complex potions to be used for medical and household purposes. Students will also review how to break down a potion into its component parts to figure out what it is and how to modify it. The students will continue to maintain a potion journal to record their testing and modifying of potions.

**Fifth Year Electives**

A maximum of three classes will be allowed. Students will be allowed to substitute participation on an official sports team for one elective. Those students who possess the talent will be allowed into a special Divination course.

**Intermediate Herbology** – This class will review the study of the magical plants found in the wizarding world. The students will discuss all of the various magical plants and how to care for them while also reviewing the muggle plant varieties.

**Intermediate Astronomy** – This class will review what they have learned so far in Astronomy and its study of the stars and planets. It will also delve more in to the discoveries made recently on our galaxy. A student's star map will be continuously expanded and the students will discuss some of the rarer rituals that astronomy has been involved in over the years and why. Class will take place in the Astronomy classroom and the great hall.

**Intermediate Runes – **This class will review the study of ancient runes. It will cover all of the runic languages learned so far and their basic meanings and how to draw them on paper. Students will keep a runes notebook of meanings for reference and to provide practice in writing and drawing the runes. Notebooks will be turned in at the end of the year as part of a student's final grade.

**Intermediate Arithmancy – **This class will review the world of magical math and how it is essential for spell development and modification. Students will also review how to solve various math problems and how they may affect the spells they use in everyday life.

**Intermediate Magical Creature Studies – **This class will review the world of magical creatures. The class will go over the various benign creatures they have studied so far, their habitats, how to care for them, and what to do if encountered in the wild.

**Intermediate Arts Studies – **This class will introduce the students to the visual arts to include painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, etc. Students will receive instruction and practice in the various methods of creation but may focus on one area if teacher is convinced of their talent or previous experience.

**Intermediate Musical Studies – **This class will introduce the students to the musical arts to include piano, violin, singing, etc. Students will receive instruction and practice in the various methods of music but may focus on one area if teacher is convinced of their talent or previous experience.

**Intermediate World Magic Studies – **This class will introduce the student to the various magics practiced throughout the world to include Druidic magic, Shamanistic magic, Blood magic, Necromancy, etc. Students will be required to keep a notebook listing the various similarities and differences between them to be turned in at the end of the year for a grade.

**Intermediate Item Creation – **This class will cover the creation of items made specifically to be enchanted. The class will go over the materials they have learned so far, how to create and carve items, which materials will work best for which purpose, and what tools will be needed to complete specific items.

"Brilliant," called Harry with a big grin. "Now we move on to the sixth year and advanced electives!"

The students cheered. Now they were getting to the good stuff!

"But first," said Harry as he held up his hand. "We need to decide on the regular courses. Should we require the students to take them, and if so, how many? Or do we allow the students to drop all of them in favor of electives?"

The students sat back in their chairs stumped. That was a problem. They knew that if given the choice, a lot of students would drop all of the basic classes and focus only on the electives. The problem was that only a few of the electives had OWL or NEWTs. That meant that a student might technically be able to graduate without any NEWTs to their name.

"Hmm," said Terry under his breath. "Maybe if we make their attendance as part of the requirement for the electives? For example, a class like Enchanting would require Charms, Transfiguration, and possibly Potions to be taken at the same time. That would keep the students in the basic classes without feeling like we are forcing them to stay in."

"That could work," said Harry with a thoughtful frown. "Does everybody agree with that? I think it makes a good deal of sense."

The others gave relieved nods. That would work great. The students would be able to take the classes that they wanted but still remain in the basic courses and graduate with at least some NEWTs.

"I do think we still need to keep the English/Latin class Harry," said Hermione with a shrug. "People will need to be able to read and speak well no matter what job or career they go into."

"I think it makes a lot of sense," said Padma. "I know the students will grumble about it but it is something that everybody needs to do well in for any of their chosen professions and it is just once class."

The students merely sighed and nodded. They could see the reasoning behind keeping the class but that doesn't mean they want to take it!

"Perfect," called Harry with a large grin. "Now we move on. I think that the sixth and seventh year classes list should be combined. There really won't be any change in them other than degree of difficultness. I am going to write this list down so be thinking about the classes you want while I get the basics out of the way."

Harry pulled the notebook towards himself and set about writing down the new list. After just a few minutes he looked up and declared "Ready!"

All of the students proceeded to start shouting out the classes that they wanted. It took Harry a minute to calm them down before he could say "I guess we are just going to need to move around the table one by one and let everybody have their say. Let's start with Ron."

"Warding and curse-breaking," declared Ron. "Like my brother Bill. I think a lot of people would be interested in those classes. Both classes would require Arithmancy, Runes, Offensive/Defensive Magics, Charms, and possibly Astronomy."

"Great," said Harry as he wrote it all down. "Next?"

"Healing," called Ginny. "It would require Potions, Charms, Offensive/Defensive Magics, and Herbology."

"Next!" called Harry as he scribbled.

"I think we need a Business class and a class that focuses on Estate Planning and Investing." called Justin. "The only problem is that I don't foresee a need for any of the basic classes."

"Well," said Harry. "I don't think every class is going to require another class but the majority of them will so it's still a good idea Justin. Next!"

"Government & Politics," called Ernie. "I think it would be a good idea for the students wanting to go into the ministry but like Justin said. I don't see a need for any of the basic classes."

"It's fine Ernie," said Harry as he wrote. "Next!"

"Animagus training," said Susan. "My aunt always said that being an animagus was extremely useful. It would require Transfiguration of course."

"It's a good idea Susan," said Harry with a smile. "Next!"

"A class focused on Wandless magic," said Hannah. "I think a lot of students would be interested in learning to do some of the smaller spells without a wand. The student would require Charms, Transfigurations, and Offensive/Defensive Magics."

"Nice," called Harry. "Next!"

"We like the idea of language classes Harry," said Terry as he gestured to himself and Anthony. "Maybe one for human languages and one for species languages? I am not sure what it would require though."

"It's still a good idea guys," said Harry with a grin. "Next!"

"A class on Rituals," called Padma with an excited look. "It would require Charms, Transfigurations, Offensive/Defensive Magics, Potions, Ruins, Arithmancy, Astronomy, and possibly Herbology."

"Brilliant," called Harry. "Next!"

"I'd like a class on creative writing Harry," said Luna with a small smile. "I think it would be a great class for those wanting to be authors or reporters. I just can't think of any of the basics that would be required."

"Of course Luna," said Harry. "Next!"

Daphne and Tracey turned to look at each other before turning back to Harry. "We would like a class on Law. Too many people are affected by it, whether through owning a business or working for the ministry, that we think it would make a good class. It could also be required to be taken in conjunction with the business and several of the other classes mentioned so far."

Several other students nodded. It was a good idea. Anybody who had plans to enter the ministry, Wizengamot, or business would need to know what they could or couldn't do.

"Good idea ladies," said Harry. "Guys?"

"We want to revisit the classes from the other schools," said Blaise. "Namely, the potions classes."

"Maybe have a class devoted to each of the different types of potions," said Draco. "We could require it to be taken with its corresponding class like Medical potions for the healing class, Battle potions for Offensive/Defensive Magics, poison identification and neutralization for the curse-breakers, and things like that."

"That's a lot of classes though," said Harry with a frown. "How many were you guys planning on?"

"We could probably group it into three classes," said Blaise after some thought. "Medical potions and research, Battle potions and poisons, and a creation and modification class. It would of course require Potions, Herbology, and possibly Magical Creatures Studies but the student would also need to be in the corresponding class"

"Sounds good," said Harry in a relieved tone. "Neville, it's your turn."

"I think the class on Enchanting like I mentioned before," said Neville. "The students could study how to enchant items like my Remembrall and maybe improve existing items. It would require Charms and possible Transfigurations and Offensive/Defensive Magics."

"And I still think it's a good idea Nev," said Harry with a grin. "Using something like that to create a class to help others is brilliant! Hermione, you're next."

"I've been thinking about this Harry," said Hermione, almost bouncing in her seat. "I think we should have a spell-crafting course. The students could learn how to create their own spells and modify old ones. It would require Arithmancy, Charms, Transfigurations, and Offensive/Defensive Magics."

There were exclamations of excitement from the other students. That would be an extremely useful course!

"Does anybody have any other ideas?" asked Harry.

The majority of the students exchanged glances and then shook their heads.

"I have an idea Harry," called Ginny. "I think we might want to create a household management course. Students will learn about how to care for themselves once they graduate. It could cover common household charms, how to budget their money, where they can buy stuff like food, and other things. I think that the students will need it because most of them won't know how to take care of themselves once they are out on their own and have a job."

"That would work out well," said Hannah slowly. "I have heard of several former students getting in trouble because they didn't know how to take care of their money and spent it all. I can see how this class would be beneficial."

"It might be a good idea for you," said Draco. "But what about the richer students who have money and elves to take care of them?"

"Draco," said Harry patiently. "Do you know anything about your money other than that you have it? Are you planning on living with your parents for the rest of your life? And what happens if, Merlin forbid, the Malfoys go broke? Would you know how to live on limited income? These are the questions you need to ask yourself before disdaining a class like this. Granted, you most likely won't have to use a majority of it but there is always a chance."

Draco shrugged uncomfortably. While he didn't think that him and the people like him would ever need it, he was okay with having the class.

"Alright," said Harry. "Now one of the problems I foresee is that some of these classes would require extensive knowledge beyond what we are capable of giving. I was wondering if maybe we shouldn't make them a very basic class that the student would have only for one term instead of the entire year. I just don't foresee how we could provide enough business theory without having the students be involved in an actual business. We have no real basic classes to build on. The only exception would be Animagus training and I figure that after six months, if a student hasn't made progress then they are probably going to want to move on."

"It's a logical thought Harry," said Susan. "I know that the Government class can only really teach you so much before you would need to go get a job in the ministry and start working your way up. I do like the idea of having a term class to cover the basics though. At least get the students some basic information before sending them out into the world."

"It does make sense," agreed the others with a shrug.

"Plus," said Justin, "Those classes are probably not going to have the most interested students anyway."

Okay good. Give me a few minutes to finish writing this and then I will post it on the board, okay?" said Harry with a grin of relief.

He started to write once more as he tried to add descriptions and requirements for all of the classes just mentioned. It took him about fifteen minutes before he was satisfied with what he had written down.

"Done!" he called as he levitated the huge list over to the board. It looked like this:

**Sixth & Seventh Year**

**Advanced Courses **

**NEWT Review**

Students are allowed a maximum of ten classes and will be allowed to drop any of the basic classes except the English/Latin class as long as they are not a requirement for an elective that they wish to take part in. Students need to be aware that there is no NEWT in many of the elective classes. Students will be allowed to substitute participation on an official sports team for one elective. (F) stands for Flex classes and will only be taken for one term.

**Advanced English/Latin – **Students will go further into the depths of the English and Latin languages to prepare them for their chosen career. This course will include public speaking and debate, reading and writing reports, vocabulary, spelling, and critiquing other works of speech and literature. This is the only mandatory class required during these years.

**Advanced World History** **–** Will include both Wizarding and muggle history and how they affected each other in the past. Class will cover everything up to the present day. Students will still maintain a timeline of both wizarding and muggle world history for NEWT review and reference.

**Advanced Offensive/Defensive Magics –** This class will include a physical fitness program. Students will cover all advanced spells needed for life in the wizarding world including such things as the Patronus charm and others. Students will also continue to learn more battle spells and tactics. Regular duel tournaments will be scheduled this year and will include team dueling and multiple opponents. Students will continue to cover the spells they are defending against as well as the ministry classification system of Dark items, spells, and creatures and what caused them to be classified as Dark.

**Advanced Charms –** This class will cover the study and classification of the spells known as charms. It will continue to cover the magical theory, wand movements, and more complex charms. The class will also start to learn how to break down the spells and what makes them work.

**Advanced Transfiguration –** This class will cover the study of transfiguration and will include the magical theory behind it along with wand movements and item-to-item association. Students will review the spells they have learned so far but move on to animate to inanimate transfigurations along with inanimate to animate.

**Advanced Potions –** This class will cover the higher levels of potions and will include ingredient reactions and preparations and brewing more complex potions. Students will continue to learn how to break down a potion into its component parts to figure out what it is and how to modify it. The students will also keep up with their potion journal to record their testing and modifying of potions.

**Advanced Herbology –** This class will cover the study of the magical plants found in the wizarding world. The students will discuss all of the various magical plants and how to care for them along with what to do when encountering them in the wild. Students will also continue to learn of the more exotic muggle plants.

**Advanced Astronomy –** This class will cover Astronomy and its study of the stars and planets. It will also delve more in to the discoveries made recently about the universe. A student's star map will be continuously expanded and the students will discuss some of the rarer rituals that astronomy has been involved in over the years and why. Class will take place in the Astronomy classroom and the great hall.

**Advanced Ancient Runes – **This class will be taught all of the runic languages known and their basic meanings and how to draw them on paper. Students will keep a runes notebook of meanings for reference and to provide practice in writing and drawing the runes. Notebook will be turned in at the end of the year as part of a student's final grade.

**Advanced Arithmancy – **This class will cover the world of magical math and how it is essential for spell development and modification. Students will also learn to solve various advanced math problems and how they may affect the spells they use in everyday life.

**Advanced Magical Creature Studies – **This class will study the world of magical creatures. The class will go over the various and dangerous creatures that may be encountered including dragons, chimeras, and manticores along with their habitats, how to care for them, and what to do if encountered in the wild.

**Advanced Arts Studies – **This class will teach the students about the visual arts to include painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, etc. Students will receive instruction and practice in the various methods of creation but may focus on one area if teacher is convinced of their talent or previous experience.

**Advanced Musical Studies – **This class will teach the students about the musical arts to include piano, violin, singing, etc. Students will receive instruction and practice in the various methods of music but may focus on one area if teacher is convinced of their talent or previous experience.

**Advanced World Magic Studies – **This class will continue to cover the various magics practiced throughout the world to include Druidic magic, Shamanistic magic, Blood magic, Necromancy, etc. Students will be required to keep a notebook listing the various similarities and differences between them to be turned in at the end of the year for a grade.

**Advanced Item Creation – **This class will cover the creation of items made specifically to be enchanted. The class will go over the materials they have learned so far, how to create and carve items, which materials will work best for which purpose, and what tools will be needed to complete specific items. The class will work in combination with the Enchanting class to create items to be used for enchanting.

**Warding –** Students will learn how to set wards around locations, houses and buildings. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subjects: Arithmancy, Runes, Offensive/Defensive Magics, Charms, and Astronomy._

**Curse-Breaking –** Students will learn how to handle various items, locations, and buildings that may be cursed. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subjects: Arithmancy, Runes, Offensive/Defensive Magics, Charms, and Battle Potions/Poisons (which requires Potions, Herbology, and Magical Creature Studies in addition to)._

**Healing –** Students will learn the basics of First-Aid and Healing. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subjects: Potions, Charms, Offensive/Defensive Magics, Herbology, and Medical Potions (which does require Potions, Herbology, and Magical Creature Studies)._

**(F) Business –** Students will learn how to own and operate their own business in the magical world. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subject: Law._

**(F) Estate Planning & Investing –** Students will learn how to take care of a large estate or business and how to invest their money if they so desire. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subject: Law._

**(F) Government & Politics –** Students will learn all of the ins and outs of the ministry and various other types of governments. Students will also learn all about politics and how it affects their everyday lives. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subject: Law_

**(F) Animagus Training –** Students must be tested before taking part in this class. This class will cover how to become an animagus and teach students the steps required to change into their inner animal. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subject: Transfiguration._

**Wandless Magic –** Students must demonstrate talent to participate in this class. This class will cover advanced wandless magic and how to perform it. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subjects: Charms, Transfigurations, and Offensive/Defensive Magics._

**Human Languages –** Students will learn the basics of the most common languages spoken throughout the world. This class will teach the students how to hold a normal conversation with a native speaker.

**Creature Languages -** Students will learn the basics of the most common creature languages spoken throughout the world. This class will teach the students how to hold a normal conversation with a native speaker. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subject: Magical Creature Studies._

**Rituals –** Students will learn about and how to perform common rituals used by the magical world. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subjects: Charms, Transfigurations, Offensive/Defensive Magics, Potions, Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy, and Herbology._

**(F) Creative Writing –** Students will learn how to author a book or article. This class is for those students interested in becoming an author or reporter.

**Law –** Students will learn the basics of the law in the magical world and how they may affect it, change it, or use it. This class is for those students interested in joining the ministry, Wizengamot, or owning their own business.

**Medical Potions –** Students will learn more about the potions used to treat patients in a hospital setting. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subjects: Potions, Herbology, Magical Creature Studies, and Healing._

**Battle Potions/Poisons –** Students will learn about the various potions used for fighting and the poisons that may be encountered. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subjects: Potions and Offensive/Defensive Magics._

**Potion Creation –** Students will learn how to create their own potions or modify existing potions. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subjects: Potions, Herbology, and Magical Creature Studies._

**Enchanting –** Students will learn how to enchant specific items to serve a purpose. They will also learn how to modify existing items. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subjects: Charms, Transfiguration, Offensive/Defensive Magics, Item Creation, Arithmancy, and Runes._

**Spell-Crafting –** Students will learn how to create their own spells and modify existing ones. _This class will require the student to participate in the following subjects: Charms, Transfiguration, Offensive/Defensive Magics, and Arithmancy._

**(F) Household management –** Students will learn how to manage a household after graduating Hogwarts. They will learn common household charms, how to budget their money, and where to buy things like food. Students will learn how to take care of themselves after moving out and getting a job.

The students were all discussing the classes in excitement. They couldn't wait to start participating in some of these!

"And it looks like we are done with classes," said Harry with a large grin. "It's time to move on to the teachers and how we are going to go about implementing everything."

The students all winced at the thought of what was to come but they knew it had to be done. They all settled back into their chairs and got ready for the next discussion.


	5. Discussing

**A/N: **I also researched the OotP timeline on the HP Lexicon. According to it, everything in my timeline fits up until the last meeting of the DA for fall term on December 18th which is a Wednesday of course. My story starts the next day. In the books Umbridge wasn't appointed as Headmistress until sometime in April but I wanted to give Harry and the others a chance over the 23 days of holidays (who really has that many!?) to get things started.

Just as an FYI: Harry has already had at least 9 detentions, been banned from Quidditch, led 11 meetings of the DA, hasn't started Occlumency training with Snape, and has only gotten some brief spurts of feelings from Voldemort but no visions according to the OotP timeline.

Don't forget to leave a review!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter and characters.

**Chapter 5 – Discussing**

"Okay," said Harry as the students settled down. "The next thing we need to do is go over the professors that are already here at the school and decide whether to retain them or not."

"We should also pull the grades of the students they have taught," said Hermione as she opened a new notebook. "We need to see if the professors are good at teaching their subject over the years and not just base it on our opinion alone. That way Harry can make an informed decision as to whether or not the professor should be allowed to keep teaching."

"I have them right here," called Padma as she held up several folders from their previous research. "They are already organized by professor so it should be easy enough."

"So here is how this is going to go," said Harry as he gazed around the table. "We will work our way through the professors with all of us giving our opinion and then we will look at the grades and see if it holds up to what we decide. We will then take a vote but I will have final say in the matter. Is that good for everyone?"

The other students thought about it for a few seconds and then nodded their heads. Harry seemed willing to listen to their opinions but he was the Headmaster and all final decisions would have to be made by him.

"Very well then," Harry said with a grin. "Since I am a Gryffindor, we'll start with the Transfiguration professor, Gryffindor Head of House and current Deputy Head Professor McGonagall. Would anybody like to start?"

"As you know," began Hermione as she perked up a little. "Professor McGonagall is my favorite Professor so I may be a little biased but I do believe that she makes a good teacher. She is very knowledgeable about her subject and does not seem to have a problem in getting the information across to the students in a manner they can comprehend."

Daphne nodded her head in agreement. "She is also strict but fair. The Slytherins have never really had a problem with her and she seems to hand out the same punishment to any student no matter what house they might be in."

"She follows the rules to the letter," spoke Terry with a thoughtful look on his face. "Even to the detriment of Gryffindor House. I think that is a good quality in a teacher."

"She is willing to bend them for Quidditch," said Draco with a small frown towards Harry. "And while that is a minor thing, it can be seen by the other students as favoritism and work against her. Potter, you may need to speak to her about that. I don't think it is really a big problem now but it could become one in the future."

Harry gave a small nod as he remembered McGonagall making him seeker for the Quidditch team in first year when, in all likelihood, he should have been punished along with Malfoy.

"She does have one problem though," said Ron with a frown. "I am not sure if it is a reflection of her teaching or just her Head of House position but she needs to learn to listen to what her students have to say to her no matter how outlandish it may seem. If the students know that she will not listen to the major things, what makes her so sure they will come to her for the small ones?"

Hermione nodded her head reluctantly as she remembered the way the Professor had reacted in first year when the trio had told her about the Philosopher's Stone being stolen.

"How do her grades hold up in comparison Padma?" questioned Harry.

"Pretty well," she called as she skimmed through McGonagall's files. "It could be a result of her having too many positions in the school that takes away her time but she still manages an average of around eighty percent passing for OWLs and around seventy-five percent passing for NEWTs. Those are some pretty decent scores but you might want to look into whether her having the Deputy and/or Head of House position removed might help bring those up."

"So now we vote," said Harry with a smile. "All those in favor of retaining Professor McGonagall as the Transfiguration Professor raise your hand."

Every student raised their hand as they looked around to see if anybody had not put their hand up.

"I agree with the vote," said Harry with a firm nod. "It is my decision that Professor McGonagall remain as the Transfiguration professor. However, I do need to speak to her about those other positions when we cover those topics later on."

"Unless anybody can think of a reason why not," Harry said as he looked over his list. "I believe that we can combine Professors Flitwick and Sprout into one vote. "Does anybody have anything to say about them?"

Neville sat up straight. "I love Professor Sprout. She really knows her plants and is extremely nice to everybody but is no pushover either. She is willing to go to extra lengths to make sure the students understand what she is teaching and I think it would be a shame if you didn't keep her Harry."

"It's the same for Professor Flitwick," Tracey said with a shrug. "Extremely nice, knowledgeable, helpful but no pushover, and all the students really like him. I don't see a reason why you shouldn't keep him."

"I haven't heard of anyone having any problems with Flitwick," said Anthony. "But once again, that could be my bias talking. I think he makes a great teacher."

Harry had a frown on his face as he looked at Luna. "We will need to speak to him regarding the way he watches over his house. Luna has been bullied for all four years of her education and the bullies were all from her own house. That may be something we need to talk about later as to whether the professors can maintain a teaching position while also being a Head of House."

Padma and the other Ravenclaws looked startled. "Luna, you were bullied by members of the Claws?"

"Yes," she said with her gaze dreamily looking in another direction. "But I have seen the Wrackspurts that are gathered around them and so I don't blame them."

Hermione opened her mouth to start berating the other Ravenclaws but Harry quickly shook his head at her. He motioned for her to watch them as they started to mutter angrily over what they had just learned. She snapped her mouth shut as she watched them seem to get angrier and angrier.

"We will obviously need to come back to that topic," said Harry firmly with a frown. "So far the Heads seemed to be doing okay but there are occasional slip ups that are significant. Padma, how do their grades hold up?"

Padma pulled herself together and flipped through the files. "Both Professors grades back up what we have already said with Flitwick having a slightly higher percentage, most likely due to his class being a significant portion of the magic we use, whereas Professor Sprout's is really only the focus of a few people like Neville."

"Good, let's move on to the vote. All in favor of retaining Professor Flitwick and Sprout in their teaching positions with the Head of House topic to be discussed later raise your hand."

All of the students raised their hands immediately. They saw no reason why these two professors shouldn't keep teaching.

"Brilliant," Harry said with a smile. "I completely agree with you. I think they make excellent professors and the students all seem to really enjoy their classes."

"Unfortunately," Harry said with a deep sigh as he looked at his list. "It is time for us to discuss the most controversial teacher, Professor Snape."

The room immediately exploded into shouts and arguments.

"Quiet!" Harry roared.

The room snapped to attention as the students all turned to Harry with frowns on their faces.

"We need to go about this calmly and logically," he said firmly. "So we are going to work our way around the table. Everyone will have a chance to voice their opinions but the rest must keep quiet even if they don't agree with what the person is saying until it is their turn to speak. Hermione, we'll start with you."

Hermione shifted uncomfortably before speaking. "I think Snape really knows his topic and, while I personally very little problem with the way he teaches, I know most students don't study the way I do so the way he presents the information he is trying to impart is not really done in a very effective manner to the general student."

A lot of the other students nodded their heads fervently.

"Ron?" Harry questioned with a grimace.

"Harry you know how I feel about the git," Ron said with a scowl. "He hates Gryffindors and takes points for breathing for Merlin's sake! I don't think I've learned a damn thing from him!"

Draco scowled but managed to keep his mouth shut as the other three houses nodded their heads.

"Neville?" Harry said with a small nod of encouragement.

Neville shuddered before he said quietly "He scares me."

When there was nothing else forthcoming, the other students frowned.

"Ginny?" Harry asked.

"I hate him," she said with a shrug. "He is completely biased against everyone but his Slytherins and can't teach worth a damn."

Draco opened his mouth to say something but a sharp glance from Harry caused him to snap it shut again.

"Susan?" Harry said as he looked in her direction.

"Hmm," she said with a frown. "While Snape is not as biased towards the Hufflepuffs, his teaching leaves something to be desired. He doesn't explain anything and berates the students constantly which doesn't help matters at all."

Harry nodded his head and then turned to Hannah with a questioning look.

"I don't find throwing the recipe to a potion on the board and telling us to make it without really explaining anything really conductive to learning." She said with a huff as her arms crossed over her chest in annoyance.

When Harry looked towards Ernie and Justin, they nodded their heads and called "What they said!" before Justin continued. "If this were the muggle world, Snape would have already been arrested for child abuse and fired over the way he treats the students."

Harry, Hermione, and Terry all nodded their heads with frowns as the purebloods, especially Draco, looked extremely startled.

"Padma?" Harry said with the frown still on his face.

Padma bit her lip before replying. "While I and the Ravenclaws don't really run into as many problems as the Lions and Badgers, Snape does have an extremely ineffective teaching method but I would hate for the school to lose a Potion Master of his caliber."

"Terry? Anthony? Anything you guys want to say?" Harry asked.

"I agree with Padma," Terry said with a shrug. "I don't like the way he teaches but it would be a shame to lose his expertise."

"I can take him or leave him." Anthony said with a shrug. "However, if you do keep him he will need to change a few things about the way he teaches."

"Luna?" Harry asked with a smile.

"I think Professor Snape has a wrackspurts infestation that he needs help with before he can continue to teach." Luna said with a frown. "He really needs to get that looked at soon."

"All right guys," Harry said as he looked at the Slytherins. "It's your turn. Do any of you have anything to say?"

The Slytherins exchanged looks before Draco spoke first. "Look Potter. We understand what the other students are saying about his teaching method and we agree that he could improve it but as for his bias, it is only in reaction to the bias already present against Slytherins. He is the only one that really stands up for us in this school."

"So what about the students who don't have any bias against Slytherins when they first get here like the muggleborns?" Terry asked.

Draco shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably and didn't say anything.

Blaise spoke up. "I think maybe you can try and retain him for the upper years on a trial basis and see how he does. Like the others said, it would be kind of stupid to fire someone of his caliber but if he can't change his ways then there is no point."

"That might be an idea." Harry muttered to himself as he thought it over. "Anyway, Padma how does his grades hold up?"

"It depends on how you look at it Harry." she said with a frown as she skimmed through his folder.

"What do you mean?" several students asked in confusion.

"Well," she began. "If you only look at OWL and NEWT scores than he seems to be on par with McGonagall, maybe a little less. However, when you look at the number of students actually attending his NEWT classes then the problem becomes obvious. There is a significant decrease in the number of people attending NEWT classes in potions. The students seem to achieve a passing grade on their OWLs and then drop the class. In other words, while the percentage of potion NEWTs looks good, if you compare it to the other classes in the number of students taking the NEWT then it only reaches about thirty-seven percent."

"That is bad Harry," said Hermione as she scowled. "There are a great many careers that require a potion NEWT to get into and if people are not taking the class because of the teacher than something needs to be done about it."

The students nodded with scowls on their faces.

"I think I may know part of the problem," called Anthony with a look of determination. "A few years ago, Anthony and I were going over our potions homework. I couldn't understand some things that Terry didn't even need to think about to know. After talking about it for a while we discovered that the purebloods and wizarding-raised had already spent years learning at home things like the way to prepare potion ingredients, why you should stir a certain way, and other assorted basic potion rules. I, as a muggleborn, hadn't known any of this and so was already behind when class started."

"Basically what that means," said Anthony. "Is that each year, Snape starts a class where three of the houses majority of students has no idea of the basics of potions due to their muggleborns and muggle-raised while the Snakes, who are mainly purebloods, have already learned all of this. I don't think he has ever really thought about it before, hence why no one has tried to find a solution to the problem before now."

"And it causes him to become even more frustrated with the other houses when held up in comparison to the Snakes." Harry said with an enlightened look on his face.

"And when you combine that with the fact that he expects people to automatically discriminate against the Slytherins…" Terry said as he trailed off.

The other students all had wondering expressions on their faces. They could see how this could escalate into the attitude that Snape had now. After years and years of trying to teach "Dunderheads" who seemed to have no idea what he was talking about or hadn't known to study, he had probably given up in that aspect.

"Is there a textbook," questioned Hermione in excitement. "I mean is there a book we can read that explains these things?"

"There might be one out there," Draco said as he screwed up his face in concentration. "I can't think of one now but I have never really looked for one either."

"That might be a problem then," Harry said as he scowled. "We can't offer another class on the basics of potions that would be attended at the same time as potions, we can't separate the classes into muggleborn and muggle-raised from pureblood and wizarding-raised as that would show discrimination, and I don't see the muggleborn having a class the summer before their first year and being able to cover everything."

"No," said Blaise "That wouldn't work. What you could do though is commission someone to write a manual on the basics and hand them out to the first years. You also might try to have the students paired up with one who has already learned those things and one who hasn't."

"You would have to be careful of the discrimination though," Hermione warned. "It could easily be taken by the students in the wrong way. I would recommend treating it like the tutor program. The students wouldn't mind as much that way I think."

"It's definitely an idea," said Harry with a relieved sigh. "I think everyone agrees with me then in saying that Snape should be kept on a trial basis as the professor for the upper year students. He will have to demonstrate significant changes in his teaching methods though otherwise I will fire him or simply change his job to just making potions for the school if we don't want him to leave."

The others nodded their heads, some reluctantly, but Ron was the only one to grumble under his breath.

"Moving on to the other professors," Harry said. "Binns is gone, no question. Except for a few students the most people do in that class is sleep and students need to know more than just the goblin rebellions."

The students laughed and nodded their heads. Binns' class was considered nap time or a chance to catch up on other homework.

"Trelawney is gone to," he said with a scowl. "She is completely ineffective at teaching her subject and predicting a student's death each year is not something I want in this school."

The students who were taking divination nodded their heads while the others shrugged.

"Next is Professor Sinistra from Astronomy," Harry said as he looked further down the list. "Does anybody have anything to say about her?"

"While I am not interested in the subject all that much," said Ginny as she shrugged. "I think she is a good teacher and has no trouble getting her subject across to the students."

"Does anybody have anything else to add to that?" asked Harry.

"I haven't heard of the students having any problems with her and she is generally a nice professor so I recommend that you keep her." said Ernie.

"Do the grades hold up Padma?" questioned Harry.

"Yes they do," said Padma with a firm nod. "She has very good OWL scores and excellent NEWT scores. Like Potions, her NEWT classes are significantly decreased due to the lack of interest in taking the class but only because the students feel they do not need any more instructions in Astronomy as it is a very career specific subject and not because of her."

"Everybody agree then?" Harry asked as he glanced around the table.

They all nodded their heads and Harry joined them. "Good. Then Professor Sinistra will continue on as the Astronomy teacher. Next is Professors Vector for Arithmancy and Babbling for Runes. Anybody?"

The students who had actually taken the classes told Harry that they were very good teachers and no one they knew had a problem with them so Harry agreed to keep them on.

"The last instructor is Hagrid." Harry said with a sigh.

The students all winced. While most of them knew that Hagrid was a very nice person, he wasn't a very good teacher.

"Don't get me wrong mate," said Ron as he nervously ran a hand through his hair. "I love Hagrid but both you and everybody else here knows that Hagrid's animals are way too dangerous for the students he teaches."

"Harry," Hermione said nervously. "Maybe you could let Hagrid only teach the upper years where the class will only be attended by the students really interested in those kinds of animals. Or make him an assistant professor to whomever you hire to teach Magical Creature Studies."

"Look Potter," Draco said with a grimace. "You know I don't like the big oaf… sorry man," he said in response to Harry's glare. "But even I will admit that there doesn't seem to be a creature out there that he doesn't know about and can't handle. The problem is that he has no concept of how fragile the students are in comparison to him. Creatures that he has no problem with, most wizards wouldn't be able to handle. And introducing them to third and fourth year students? That is just ridiculous!"

"So the majority of you seem to feel that he could be kept on as an upper year teacher or an assistant professor seeing as how he does actually know the subject and can teach it pretty well, it's just his choice of subject material that is the problem?" said Harry as he thought this over. While he did like Hagrid he could see what everyone was saying.

The students nodded their heads hesitantly. They knew that Hagrid was a good friend of Harry but if he wanted to be Headmaster than he needed to be able to make the hard decisions when required.

"I agree," he said firmly with a small smile. "I don't think I should get rid of him as he would be excellent for the higher levels of his subject but he definitely should not be teaching the lower years."

The students all sighed in relief and then looked at Harry for the next professor.

Harry put his list down and stood up. "I think it is time for us to get some dinner. We can continue this once we are all fed and refreshed. At that time, since we are done with the teachers list, we will be discussing bringing the teachers here to help us start to figure out how I can go about implementing all of this."

The students nodded and stood up. As they stretched, a few of them gathered around the board and looked over what they had already covered. The majority of them looked at Harry in question as if to ask whether they were having dinner here or going to the Great Hall.

Harry noticed their looks and turned to Hogwarts. "Lady Hogwarts, if you wouldn't mind asking Dobby to bring some food for us here please?"

"Of course!" she said with a smile.

A few minutes later and several house-elves popped in levitating several trays piled high with food. The students gathered back around the table and started to eat. There were several conversation going on as people tried to think of anything they hadn't covered yet and whether or not the professors should be brought in already or wait until later.

Once everybody was done, to the protests of Ron who felt that he needed a fourth helping, Harry stood up again.

"The problem we are faced with now," He began. "Is whether or not to go ahead and bring the teachers in. Does anybody have any thoughts on the matter?"

Hermione spoke up. "Daphne, Padma, Justin, and I were discussing it earlier and we think that it might be beneficial to bring them in now. I know you said that you wanted to get started on planning how you are going to start making the changes and having their opinions and expertise would probably be helpful."

"They also might be able to help you with figuring out who would be best to sit on your adult council." said Ron as he continued to pout over the food being taken away.

"I don't see a reason not to include them," said Luna as she gazed at the ceiling. "But I would have to see them to check if they had any wrackspurts around them that would be harmful."

"So no one has any problems bringing them in now?" questioned Harry as he gazed around the room.

Everybody shook their heads no. They were fine with calling the professors in at this time.

"Okay," said Harry as he nodded his head and the hesitated. "I was thinking of only bringing the heads of houses in right now. I see no reason why we would need every single teacher here. Do you think that would work?"

The other students thought about it for a few minutes and then shook their heads. It would save a lot of time if they only had to deal with a few opinions instead of all of them. Plus, the heads were the ones that would have the most impact being that they had the broadest range of input from their daily duties and experiences.

Harry nodded again and then turned to Hogwarts. "Lady, could you please ask the Heads of Houses to come to the Room please? Let them know that they can assign the prefects and Head Boy and Girl to patrol for the rest of the evening. I think we should also have a general announcement made that no one is to leave their common rooms for the rest of the evening and that an explanation would be given tomorrow before the students left for hols. Does that sound good?"

Hogwarts nodded her agreement before closing her eyes in concentration for the next few minutes. "The announcement has been made Harry and the professors all said they would be here shortly." She said after opening her eyes once more.

She started glancing around the room and as she did so, the table the students were sitting at started to bend. The students all gasped as their chairs followed the table into its new horseshoe shape. A table appeared near her that would seat the four Heads directly across from the students. Once she was finished, she brought the board over to where everybody could see it and then enlarged it to make it easier to read. She also made copies of the Admin notebook and the class list notebooks so that each person would have their own copy to make notes in. Every student and the four empty chairs were provided several blank notebooks and sheets of parchment along with pens and quills. She nodded firmly at what she had done.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Harry looked around to make sure everyone was ready before he got up to answer it.

As he pulled open the door he said "Good evening Professors. Would you please come in?" and gestured inside. He saw McGonagall with a thoughtful look on her face, Flitwick looked excited, Sprout seemed confused, and Snape was extremely angry.

As the professors moved further into the room they noticed the other students at the table. Each of the students smiled at their Head of House except the Slytherins who merely nodded. After noticing the four seats available, the professors sat themselves down and settled in.

Harry returned to his seat in the middle of the table but remained standing. "Thank you for joining us here Professors." He said with a smile.

"What are you up to now Potter!?" barked Snape with a sneer on his face.

McGonagall sent him a sharp glance and opened her mouth to speak but Harry beat her to it. "I asked you four to come here so that I may tell you what is going on. Professor McGonagall probably has some idea but I need to explain to the rest of you to get you up to speed."

McGonagall looked confused before enlightenment dawned on her face and she let out a sharp gasp which caught the attention of the other professors.

"Minerva," said Flitwick as he bounced lightly in his chair. "Do you know what is going on?"

"I think so," said McGonagall in a faint voice. "But I really should let Mr. Potter explain things."

Professor Snape snorted under his breath. As if Potter could talk about anything other than trying to make himself seem more impressive.

"I am going to start with explaining what has been going on so far this year," Harry said as he started to pace around the table. "I am not sure if you are aware of this or not but Umbridge completely stinks as a DADA professor. She only taught theory and didn't allow any practice of spells in her class. Because of this, Hermione asked me to start a defense club that would teach the other students about the spells they needed to learn. It has been going on since September."

Professor Flitwick looked like he was about to start asking which spells while Sprout looked approving of the fact that Harry wanted to help out his classmates. Professor Snape just sat there and glared.

"We had our last meeting for the term yesterday. Marietta Edgecombe told Professor Umbridge this morning about the meetings and she came and pulled me out of Transfiguration class today to take me to the Headmaster's office along with Professor McGonagall, who refused to let me go alone. When we got there, Professor Dumbledore, Minister Fudge, Percy Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and another auror I wasn't familiar with were waiting."

Harry proceeded to explain what had happened in the office up until Dumbledore disappeared and the rumbling started.

Flitwick and Sprout nodded their heads. They had felt the castle shaking earlier in the day but since nothing was mentioned they had figured that whatever had caused it had been taken care of.

"Now here is where it gets weird," Harry said as he ran a hand nervously through his hair. "Apparently, Fudge was going to try to assign Umbridge as Headmistress which activated the castle and she woke up. I would like to introduce to the physical representation of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry… Lady Hogwarts." As Harry finished speaking he turned and gestured towards Hogwarts who had just stepped out of the shadows.

"Good evening Professors." she said as she nodded towards each of them. The varying reactions from the Professors would have been funny if this wasn't such a serious conversation.

Professor McGonagall was pale and seemed to have a resigned look on her face while Professor Sprout looked close to fainting. Professor Flitwick, on the other hand, looked as if he was about to bounce out of his seat in excitement and Professor Snape could be seen glaring murder at Hogwarts.

"So Potter," Snape turned his glare on Harry. "You came up with this prank and managed to get the Heads here but I see no reason why we should stay when you have obviously lost your mind, what little you had anyway."

Snape stood up to leave the room. Before he even managed to make it one step, he was frozen in place. It felt like several thousand metric tons of stone was pressing down on him and he couldn't for the life of him even twitch a finger towards his wand to release himself.

"Professor Severus Snape," intoned Hogwarts as she gazed sternly at him. "You will remain here and listen to what needs to be said or you will lose your position in this school immediately."

Snape wasn't able to sneer but he did manage to speak. "The only person who can fire me is the Headmaster of Hogwarts and he currently isn't in the school so I have no reason to sit here and listen to Potter's and apparently your delusions."

The magic that was holding Snape let up enough to force him back into his seat. He was able to turn his head and noticed the majority of the students were glaring at him while his snakes were merely shaking their heads in resignation and sighing.

Snape couldn't believe that Potter had managed to confound Draco and the other three into believing these… these… moronic stories! 'We'll he wasn't so easily fooled,' he thought as he brought his Occlumency barriers up to full strength in case they tried to cast any spell on him that would tamper with his memory or perceptions. Although, he did have to wonder where Potter and this woman had gotten the power to hold him in place like that. He could move any part of his body but he couldn't raise himself from the seat he was in.

"While I admit that Severus could have said it better," Flitwick said with a considering gaze towards Hogwarts. "What he said does make some sense. You don't really expect us to believe that the woman standing in front of us is really the school, do you Mr. Potter?"

"I can prove it if you'd like," said Hogwarts in a calm voice as she then explained about her "eyes and ears" around the castle. "If you can think of a time that you were in the school by yourself with no one else around and tell me about it, I can tell you exactly what you were doing and saying if you give me a few seconds."

Flitwick thought for a few moments and then said "Alright. When I was in my fifth year, I locked myself into a broom closet. Can you tell me about that?"

"Out loud?" Hogwarts asked after a few seconds of concentration.

"Hmm," mumbled Flitwick. "No, better you whisper it into my ear. I wouldn't want that story spread around."

Hogwarts walked over and spent a few minutes whispering into the professor's ear. As the minutes passed, Flitwick's face started as a pale pink but continued to deepen until finally he toppled off of his chair, his face the color of a cherry tomato.

"It's her!" he squeaked in embarrassment from the floor.

Professor Sprout looked on in startled amazement while McGonagall merely nodded her head as she had already known.

"So you have managed to confound Filius too," said Snape in a hard voice. "That does not mean that I will be misled as easily."

"Very well Professor," Hogwarts said in the same tone of voice. "I see extreme measures are needed."

She then walked over to his chair and a silencing bubble sprang up as she started to speak. Snape's face paled and then kept going until he was almost transparent. After a few minutes he started shaking his head back and forth as if to deny what she was telling him. Hogwarts finished talking and then just looked at him for a few minutes as he tried to recover. He didn't seem to be aware that he was trembling all over. Hogwarts walked back to the group but left the silencing bubble up.

"He will need a few minutes and he will be okay but he does believe me now." she said with a sad smile.

The remaining professors made small talk with the students until Snape rejoined them with his blank mask back in place.

"Now that everyone is on the same page," said Hogwarts as she clapped her hands sharply. "I will continue the explanation." She told the professors about the Founder's Charter and answered the questions that they wanted clarified, particularly the ones about Salazar Slytherin. She also explained why she had chosen Harry as the new Headmaster.

It took the professors several minutes to recover from that revelation.

Professor Snape, who managed to recover first, groaned out "So Potter is my new boss? Bloody hell!"

The students, including Harry, burst into laughter at this exclamation.

Once Harry got over his laughing fit he said "Right. Now that you are somewhat brought up to speed, I will explain why I had you called here."

Harry sent Snape a glance. "We will not be firing any of you, hence why you are here. But Professor Snape will be on probation for the next few years."

"Probation," thundered Snape. "For what reason? I am an excellent potions professor!"

All of the students from the houses other than Slytherin gaped in disbelief at the professor.

"Are you serious," Harry said in a hard voice before anyone else could start talking. "Very well Professor. Let me explain something to you. Do you know what your attitude has done to the school in general during the years you have taught here? Do you know why three-quarters of the school hate Slytherins so much? Why no one wants to even try to take a chance and befriend one?"

Snape looked confused and angry at the same time while all of the others had a questioning look on their faces.

Harry glared at Snape. "Let's start with the school in general. Everyone except the Slytherins hates your class. And it is not because of the actual potions themselves. It is because of the professor teaching it. You are constantly taking points and belittling the other students instead of actually helping them to correct their mistakes and teaching them what they did wrong."

"While I understand that you must keep up appearances but the problem is that your attitude is a big part of why the students hate Slytherins. Granted there are a few Slytherins that stand out such as Malfoy," he said as he sent a firm glance at Draco. "But the good majority of them are quiet and don't bother the other students much. I bet over half of this school couldn't tell you more than a few names of the students in the House of Snakes but would you like to bet on what the first if not only name that is going to be mentioned every time is? That's right. The greasy, slimy, overgrown bat of the dungeons, Professor Snape"

"Mr. Potter," called McGonagall in anger. "There is no need to resort to name calling!"

"I apologize Professor McGonagall and to you to Professor Snape." Harry said while nodding his head at both of them.

"However, I think Professor Snape got the point I was trying to make. The students see you as a representative of Slytherin House. For most of the students, you are one of the first people they meet from that house and your impression stays with them. Because of the way you act most students' figure that the students in your house will act the same and so don't bother to even try and get to know them. When they see you favoring them so much and compare it to how the other heads act, they get angry and disgusted. That just reinforces their decision about Slytherin house being the house of gits."

Professor Snape tried not to look as shocked as he felt. Was he really the cause of so much trouble for the students in his house? He hadn't thought of it that way before. He just assumed that the students from other houses arrived at Hogwarts already biased against the Slytherins and so followed the policy of 'Hurt them before they hurt you'.

"I apologize to the Snakes in the room for what I am about to say but it needs to be said," Harry declared as looked at Blaise, Daphne, Tracey, and Draco who had blank looks on their faces. "Now I realize that quite a few of the students from the house of snakes are children of death eaters and the other students know this. But, what you must consider is that most of the students are young and don't remember the death eaters and what they did during the last war. They are really only aware of this information peripherally and so it does not affect their everyday lives at school until you, Malfoy, or one of the other obvious Slytherins act like gits and bring that knowledge to the front of their minds and reinforce it. It is then that they start believing that Slytherins are the house of 'evil' and no one can prove to them otherwise."

"As a last point," said Harry in a much calmer tone although the anger was still there. "You need to think about what has happened to you over the years. You have told me before that you hated my father and his friends because they were bullies to you. What you don't seem to realize is that you yourself have become the very thing you hate. But instead of focusing on just one student like my father and Sirius did, you are perceived as a bully by any student not in Slytherin house. I mean, are you really not concerned that even after everything Neville Longbottom went through with his parents, you are still the form his boggart takes?"

Neville flushed as he remembered his third year and learning about Boggarts.

Snape couldn't speak. His world view had just been shaken beyond recognition. This couldn't be true, could it? He was not a bully, was he? His teaching methods were not the cause for students to actually fear him, were they? He was not one of the main reasons for his Slytherins to be reviled, was he?

As Snape asked himself these questions and tried to answer them, the other professors were considering what Harry had said and decided to sit back and see what would happen with this conversation. Harry was doing an excellent job in telling Professor Snape what was wrong without resorting to mere angry accusations.

Harry took a deep breath. He was still pretty angry and trying to keep his tone even and not start shouting was requiring a lot of self-control. He couldn't believe that all of his trouble with Snape had stated over a simple childhood grudge. While he did understand why Snape had hated his father and the Marauders, he couldn't understand why an adult of Snape's age hadn't learned by now that teenagers were emotional and retarded people and anything done by them during their teenage years should be taken with a grain of salt.

"Look Professor," Harry sighed wearily. "You need to take a look around and see what you have caused. No, you are not the sole reason that the students hate the House of Snakes, but you are definitely helping to perpetuate the illusion that Slytherins are not to be trusted."

"It comes down to this," Harry said as he crossed his arms. "I don't like you and you don't like me and that is fine. We do, however, need to be able to work together without any major problems. I figure that we can ignore what has already happened and start fresh. But you need to be aware that if I find you continuing to teach the way you did or treat the students in the same manner, I won't hesitate to fire your arse."

Snape merely sat there in shock while the students crossed their arms and nodded firmly. None of them except the Slytherins liked the man but if he could be made to see what was wrong then he might turn into and excellent professor.

Harry gave him a few minutes to think about what he had said before he continued on with his explanation.

"Most people," Harry began. "When presented with a problem this large, first go their friends for help and then to the people who understand what is going on the most. Naturally I asked Hermione and Ron to come and they convinced me that it would be a good idea to accept the position but I would definitely need a lot of help. Hermione was the one to come up with the councils. I will have two councils, one from the students and one from the adults from around the wizarding world to help me make informed decisions."

As he mentioned the student council, the other students who had kept silent until then, all cheered.

The professors looked amazed at the logic and thought behind this. It was an ingenious plan. Harry would have an ear in both sides of the school to let him know of any problems that cropped up before they became too hard to handle.

"The student council will be an elected position," said Harry. "Where there is a representative elected from each house; one from the first through fourth years and one from the fifth through seventh years. It will be a one year term so that more students have the opportunity to be on the council and I get a broader range of ideas and input. Students will only be allowed to be on the council twice; once for the lower years and once for the upper years. I also have the right to reject them from the council for not doing their jobs and it will go on their records. That should keep all but the most determined people from trying to get elected for the wrong reasons."

Harry kept going. "We decided for this first council to gather four students from each house, of all 'blood types', and all different social, economic, and political leanings and see what we could come up with. We started with some research into the other schools to see how Hogwarts compared. What we found was not pretty to say the least."

The professors looked on in confusion as the students started to grumble angrily at the remembered results of that particular research topic.

"Hogwarts is the premier magical school in the wizarding world Mr. Potter," said McGonagall sternly. "So what seems to be the problem?"

Hermione couldn't contain herself any longer. "That's just it Professor! Hogwarts only ranks twenty-third out of the twenty-six large population schools in the world. Britain's wizarding world and especially their education is the laughing stock of the international community!" Hermione looked like she was about to cry.

"WHAT!?" shouted the professors in disbelief as they began protesting immediately.

Harry held up his hand for silence as he explained. "If you would open the notebooks in front of you labeled Admin you will see the research that the students did earlier this afternoon and the results they came to."

The professors frantically opened the notebooks and started to read. As the minutes passed, they got more and more pale. Finally, with Professor Sprout finishing last, they sat back in their chairs in shock.

It was true! Hogwarts was a joke to anybody outside of Europe and even there they were still looked down upon. Their precious school was barely a school and even then it taught at such a lower level that it almost didn't matter. What were they going to do?

Harry couldn't stand it any longer. Professor Sprout even had tears running silently down her face!

"Calm down Professors," said Harry with a small smile. "We can and will recover from this. It is going to take a while but Hogwarts will regain her top position eventually. I'll make sure of it!"

The professors pulled themselves together and sat up straight. "What can we do to help Mr. Potter?" they said with determined voices.

"We need your experience and advice," he stated firmly. "I want you to flip open those notebooks once again and follow along as we explain what we have come up with already. We need you to tell us what can be done, what can't be done, what will take time, what we can do immediately, and things like that."

The professors nodded their heads firmly and opened their notebooks.

Hermione and the other students began to explain the list they had come up with and why.

As they worked their way through the list the professors became more and more amazed by the thought that had gone into this.

They were thankful that the Board of Governors had been dissolved as that body would stop them from making any of the changes that needed to be made. They had been a pain to the collective arses of the professors ever since they could remember!

Both Professors Snape and Flitwick got involved in a long technical discussion with Hermione and the others when they told the professors about her theories on the birth rates. Flitwick mentioned that he had several former students who would love to participate in the research that was going to be needed to figure that one out while Snape mentioned that he knew several Potions Masters who would be willing to help. They could speak with those people during the next summer off from school as it was not needed right away.

When it came time to talk about the book monitor that Harry wanted to create, McGonagall was hesitant.

"While I can see that it is a very good idea Mr. Potter," she said. "I just don't think that Hogwarts has the capabilities to fund it. It would be a massive undertaking that would require a lot of people to go to all of the houses and I don't believe that you can afford to pay all of them to do this."

Harry frowned in severe disappointment. "I really think this is needed. I mean, what if we catch another Riddle before he or she can go bad because we got to them early enough to prevent it?"

Several people flinched but seemed thoughtful.

"Well," said Ron thoughtfully. "You could try to hire a team permanently from the Goblins but that would also be extremely expensive."

"I've got it," shouted Ginny in glee. "We are going to have classes on Warding so why not ask the students of those classes, maybe the seventh years, to go around and put up the wards that could be used to monitor the homes? That way we would only need a sufficient staff to watch the book and maybe find a way to monitor the wards from Hogwarts like they monitor underage magic at the ministry."

Everybody perked up at this.

"That's an excellent idea Ginny," exclaimed Hermione before she frowned. "And that's another thing we might want to look into. Everybody knows that despite the rules, the purebloods and wizarding-raised can practice magic during the summer but the muggleborns and muggle-raised can't because of the way the Trace is set up. That gives them an unfair disadvantage when they go back to school the next year if they haven't been able to practice over the summer."

"Unfortunately," said Harry with a scowl. "That is something that is controlled by the Ministry but we should definitely look into changing that. As for Ginny's idea of using the Warding class, I think it is a great idea but we would need to make sure that the wards could be performed by the students without straining themselves."

"Actually Mr. Potter," said Flitwick as he bounced once more in his seat. "I believe I know the wards you would need and if the class was taught correctly and had the basics down then they should have no problem creating them. Now what's this about a Warding class?"

"We are going to get to that later Professor Flitwick," Harry said with a grateful grin. "But thanks for the information on the wards. I think we can get the program started over the Winter break and temporarily hire the Ward team from Gringotts until the students can get to the level needed. It may take a few years though so I need to check on the finances and see if I have to wait a bit before I can assign the monitors. It depends on what the goblins say. Moving on to our next topic."

McGonagall recommended they hire Nymphadora Tonks' parents, who were lawyers in both the wizarding and muggle worlds. "They would be the best ones to ask about what could and could not be done with that kind of contract. Plus, the muggles would be comforted to have a lawyer that they could reference from the muggle world. It would definitely be best to speak to them soon though. I know they can get busy so you don't want to put this off for any amount of time."

All of the professors agreed that they were unsure as to the solutions for the tuition problem. They just didn't have enough knowledge on the subject to be of much help. They did agree though that it was a good idea to talk to the Goblins about what could be done and how.

The orientation classes for the muggleborn and muggle-raised were a big hit though. When asked, they said that they didn't mind spending a weekend or so at the school to go over the wizarding world with the incoming parents and students. It would most likely save them a lot of hassle later on. They could speak to several of the students this year and have it set up to begin the next summer for the incoming first years.

Both McGonagall and Sprout burst into laughter when they heard about the first year health exams. "Madame Pomfrey has been campaigning for years to have this implemented but the Board of Governors would never agree." Explained Professor Sprout when asked why they were laughing. "She would help you set that up right away so she could start when the students come back from break. I also believe that she has several recommendations as to who would be best to hire to help her in the hospital wing."

Professor Snape had a hard time containing his anger when confronted with the Marauder map as an example of what they had in mind for the first years. The professors approved once they learned that Harry would be speaking to Remus and Sirius about "dumbing it down" so that it was not as elaborate and likely to get the students into trouble. They also felt that it would not be needed until next year being as how the students had already had months to learn their way around this year.

When it came time for the notebook and pens idea, they listened to Justin's and Terry's thoughts but were a little hesitant as to whether the purebloods would agree to use them or not. When it was pointed out that they were already using it themselves without much thought or protest they quickly agreed to the idea with pink faces.

Next came one of the main topics; the updating and improving of the wards around the school.

"The problem I foresee," said Snape with a small frown. "Is that we have no way of knowing whether the school would be able to incorporate the wards. It is always a bad idea to add wards on top of wards without finding a way to make them work together otherwise they might just destroy themselves and what they are trying to ward."

"I can supply all of the notes and conversations on the wards that are already present on the school," chimed Hogwarts. "But you would need a team to go through and find out what can be done and whether or not they can be made to work together. Unfortunately, past a certain point, I cannot have a ward torn down or it would bring down all of them including the original ancient wards that the Founders put in place. After so many years, the ward becomes a part of me and I can't do anything about it. Thankfully though, that does take a long time so anything put up in the last few hundred years should be safe to be removed or changed if needed. I do ask that you consult me first before doing anything though."

"Well of course dear Lady," said Flitwick with a grin. "No better way to go about it than to ask the school itself whether something would work or not. As for your idea of hiring a team from Gringotts Mr. Potter, I think it is excellent. But I would also include a team of arithmancers and Rune masters to help. Depending on how much needs to be done, they could possibly be finished by the start of school but it also may stretch into months."

Harry and the others all agreed that this was valid point and wrote it down in their notebooks. Harry then went on to explain his idea of a curse-breaking team going through Hogwarts and why he thought it was needed.

"Hopefully," he said. "We will be bringing in many more students which will require the use of empty classrooms and dorms that no one has been in for decades. We have no way of knowing whether there might be something in there that might be detrimental to the students and teachers later on down the line. We also might be able to figure out whether the DADA position is cursed or not and get rid of it or find a way around it. I just don't want the school to have anything in it that is unsafe for the students."

The professors could see the benefits to this and so agreed whole-heartedly but pointed out that no one had any way of knowing how long it would take for the team to finish considering that none of them had any idea as to how much might be cursed or tampered with. Once again, that team could be there for months.

When the idea of using a hunter team to go through the Forbidden Forest was brought up, Snape had some advice and a request.

"I believe that you may want to speak to the centaurs first. They consider it their forest and so may not want you to do that. On the other hand, they may even offer to help as the dark creatures in that forest have been multiplying at an astronomical rate and there soon might not be any of the other creatures left."

"I do request though, that if the team is allowed to go through the forest, you bring me any of the kills so that I may check them over for parts to be used in potions. It is an excellent way to stock up on ingredients without having to buy them from a supplier which would help the school in the monetary savings."

Harry agreed with that and nodded to Professor Snape. "I'll probably ask Hagrid to go talk to them. The problem is that included in that hunt is going to be the acromantula nest. He won't want them culled as they are the children of Aragog."

"Acromantula nest?" yelled Professors McGonagall and Sprout in consternation.

"Aragog?" questioned Flitwick in mild horror.

Harry winced before he looked towards Ron who reluctantly took up the explanation. "Well, you remember how Hagrid was expelled in his third year for opening the Chamber of Secrets? And how we got him cleared in our second year because it was actually Tom Riddle and his pet basilisk?"

The professors nodded slowly as they couldn't see where this was going.

"Yeah," Ron grimaced. "Well it turns out there was a good reason for suspecting Hagrid. He was raising a baby acromantula named Aragog who escaped into the forest when Hagrid was arrested and has been living there ever since. Hagrid found Aragog a mate named Morag and they started to reproduce."

The professors had looks of horror on their faces. "And how do you know this Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley?" McGonagall asked in a faint voice.

"We spoke with Aragog in our second year," Harry said as he squirmed in his chair. "Hagrid had been arrested again and told us to follow the spiders which were all leaving the castle. We found their nest and they told us that Hagrid hadn't been the one to open the Chamber as it had been Aragog that Hagrid had been raising and not Slytherin's creature."

Harry managed to perk up a little bit. "Aragog did tell us that out of respect for Hagrid, the acromantulas have never gone near the school or humans which is why no one knew they were there." He then wilted again. "However, he's old and will be dying soon and I am not sure if his children will continue to honor that so it needs to be taken care of now."

The professors just sat there and gaped at the two boys. They had no idea as to what to say to the two of them. Professor McGonagall's hand was held over her chest as if to keep herself from having a heart attack.

"Moving on," Harry said quickly with a frantic glance towards Hermione. The professors agreed that going over the rules and punishments was a good idea and they all volunteered to help over the holidays so that they could be introduced and enforced starting the spring term.

"You might want to think about putting the new rules into a handbook," said Hannah. "That way each of the students gets a copy and won't have any excuse not to know of them. I would also have several available in each common room."

Everybody agreed with that and Harry made a note in his notebook. Harry then squared his shoulders and presented his idea on the House Cup and what he thought should be done.

"I just think that it creates a lot of unnecessary competition between the houses," he explained with a frown. "Also the way that one person can gain and lose so many points is kind of ridiculous. Hermione, Neville and I lost one hundred and fifty points in first year which turned the whole house against us. When Ron, Hermione and I gained it back at the end of the year, Gryffindor house stole the cup from the Slytherins even though only four students, when you include Neville's contribution, managed to do it. The rest of the house had done nothing and yet they got the 'glory' of winning the cup and completely undermined what the Slytherins had accomplished. Granted, Professor Snape's bias might have had something to do with it but probably not to that extent."

"I just don't think that the students will like that Potter," Snape scowled in thought. "The House cup has been around for hundreds of years and I am not sure that changing it at this point would be a good idea."

"That is why we are hoping that if we combine the two ideas it might work," Harry said excitedly. "For the next few years, both the House Cup and the Best of cups will be handed out. I am hoping that the students will begin to focus more on the individual cups and pay less and less attention to the House Cup. It won't hurt to try and if it is not working in a few years we can always start to do away with the Best of cups if we want to. I just feel that trying to reduce the competition between houses is a good idea and will allow the students to get along better."

"Well Mr. Potter," said Professor Sprout with a smile. "I can see that your idea has merit and like you said: it won't hurt to try it this way to see if it works."

"Great," Harry said with a grin. "Now it's time to talk about you Professors."

The professors exchanged worried looks. This sounded ominous.

"Being as how we are hoping that Hogwarts will start to pull in a bunch more students," Harry said. "We feel that having one Professor for all of the years is a bit too much. What we came up with is to hire some junior professors that could teach the younger years allowing you to focus on just the sixth and Seventh year NEWT classes."

The professors were shocked and immediately started to protest.

Harry held up his hand to silence them. "Professors we are talking hundreds, possibly thousands of additional students once the monitoring and other programs get started. Do you really believe that you will be able to handle that many students? There is no way that there will be only two classes or less per year level anymore. It could get into the five to ten classes per year level range. Do you really feel that one person per subject can do that?" Harry said as he looked at them calmly.

The professors slumped back into their chairs. There was no way they could cover that many classes. Granted, it would probably take a few years to get to that many but they would already need to have the additional professors in place and trained before that or the school would be overwhelmed.

Harry tried to calm their fears. "Professors, try to think of it like a muggle university. You would be the respective heads of your departments and only teach the students who are really interested in your subjects. You could also get together with the junior professors and help them with their lesson plans to make sure they are teaching the correct methods."

"And as for you Professor Snape," Harry said as he turned to said Professor. "Terry and Anthony feel they might have discovered a reason why you get so frustrated with three of the houses when it comes to teaching potions. I'll let them explain."

Professor Snape looked interested. Anything that would help save him from having to teach the little idiots who had no idea what they were doing!

As Terry and Anthony began explaining what they had discovered, Snape's face grew more and more pale. Why hadn't he thought of this? It was so obvious once it was pointed out! Of course the purebloods are going to have more grounding and knowledge in potions when they had been watching and helping their parents brew potions for years. The muggleborn and muggle-raised wouldn't have any idea of even the basics when it came to his class!

"I can't believe I didn't see it," Snape said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Have you come up with any solutions?"

Harry took over the explanation as he told them about the handbooks that were going to be published and how the junior professors would be the one to handle bringing the students up to what Snape required in a class. "That is why we feel that you would be better as just the NEWT instructor. The students will have already learned all of the basics plus you would only be dealing with the students who really wanted to be in your class."

Snape merely nodded his head. He was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he had missed something so obvious over the years.

Hermione piped up. "We are going to need your input, basically a list of qualifications as to what we should look for in the junior professors and where we should start looking for them. Harry is hoping to get at least a few of them for this upcoming spring term so that they can start helping with your classes to see what they will be doing."

"You will have to give us a few days to think it over," stated McGonagall firmly. "It is not something to rush as we might forget something. We also need to explain things to the other professors as to what they need to do."

"As long as you can get it to me in the next few days," said Harry with a thoughtful look. "I will need to start looking for these people right away so you can't take too much time being as how I am not sure how hard it will be to find them."

The professors nodded their heads in agreement. It shouldn't be too hard. They already had a basic idea as to what was required; it was just getting it down on paper and fleshing out the qualifications to make sure they had thought of everything.

"In relation to that," Harry explained. "We also need to develop an auditing program to make sure that the professors are doing their jobs correctly. I can't just listen to the students when they say that the professor stinks or gives to much homework unfortunately. That is a regular student complaint and so I would have no idea as to what is real and what is just the students complaining."

"Which brings me to my next topic," said Harry with a frown as he looked at Professor McGonagall. "I think I am going to need to find a new Deputy Head who would run programs like these."

McGonagall's face blanched in shock. "But I am the Deputy Head!" she stuttered.

Harry winced before replying. "Yes Professor, but do you enjoy that job? And do you feel that you will be able to keep up with it along with your classes and being the Gryffindor Head of House? Especially now that you know how much the Deputy is going to be responsible for? I can easily keep you in that position but you will be required to drop one of the other ones you hold. It is going to be too much work for just one person to hold all three positions. Plus there will be a lot more paperwork involved." he said with a placating smile.

Professor McGonagall sat there in thought. While she hated to lose the position, especially with how much she had done over the years, she couldn't say that she really enjoyed the time it took to take care of everything. She would rather keep her classes and remain the Gryffindor Head.

"Very well," she said in a resigned voice. "But I will be training the new Deputy to make sure they are up to speed and know all of what they need to do."

"That's fine," Harry grinned. "I was going to ask you to do that anyway!"

"Next is my idea," said Padma with an excited grin. "I thought Harry might create a tutoring program for those who might need a little extra help. It could utilize the older students and junior professors who would be asked on a case by case basis. Harry might even want to set up organized study groups instead of the tutoring so the students don't feel bad that they require that extra help to get them through their classes."

"Excellent idea Ms. Patil," called Flitwick. "Although I like the study group idea the best, the tutoring could be created later on if the study groups are not working. It's definitely something that will take time to set up though. You will have to find students and teachers willing to do it and they won't know until they are more familiar with the new classes you seem to want to create."

"That's a good point Professor," Harry said with a small frown. "We can't just throw the students into it if they are not familiar enough with the subject in the first place. It is most likely going to be one of those things that we will have to do over the summer hols."

The professors nodded. There was no way a program like this could be set up until people were used to the changes and that would take a little time.

"Finally," Harry said with a tired grin. "We need to discuss the prefects and Head Boy and Girl. I just don't see the need for them when we are going to have all of the new professors and the student council. I think we should slowly phase them out over the next few years."

"As long as you have someone to replace them," shrugged Sprout. "But the students will not like it at first. It will take some time but you seem to be giving them a few years to get used to the idea so I don't think it will be that big of a deal."

The other professors nodded as Harry wrote that down.

When he was done, he looked up at everybody and said. "Well that is it for the administration changes. I think we should all go to bed and we will take this up tomorrow once the students have all left for the hols. That's when we will go over the new classes and I do need to visit Gringotts to speak with the Goblins. Please don't speak about any of this until later. We can't have rumors getting out before I am ready to counter them."

Everybody nodded as they stood up and started to stretch. They were making their way to the door when McGonagall suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Mr. Potter," she called anxiously. "Have you told Professor Dumbledore that he is no longer the Headmaster?"

Harry paled and said "Bloody hell!"


	6. Meetings (Part 1)

**A/N:** I realize that most of the things mentioned by Remus to Harry as how the Potters made their gold is completely wrong but I wanted to portray the Potters as a family that, while they definitely have good business sense, they also like to help out their friends and families.

Harry giving his Tri-wizard money to the twins is a good example. He knows the twins want the money to start their business. He has no need for the gold and so decides to help them out. It is merely Fred and George's creative inventions that help to make the business do so well. Because Harry helped them to get started they decide to give him a portion of the profits which in turn increases Harry's wealth. He didn't set out to give them the money because he knew they would increase his wealth, he did it because they were friends. If James had lived long enough and Remus had an idea like the twins, James would have given him money also. I just see this as being a Potter trait. Thankfully it works out well for them!

**Chapter 6 – Meetings (Part 1)**

For the majority of the students who woke up that Friday morning in the castle known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it was a day to celebrate. The last day of fall term was here and in just a few short hours they would all be boarding the Hogwarts' Express to go home for the Christmas hols. Classes were done for now, and while they did have some homework over the break, it was minimal. They just wanted to get home and get away from the mess that had been the term so far. Little did they know that changes were already in progress and when they returned in January, it would be to a completely different school from what they were leaving.

Harry Potter and sixteen other students however, woke up with a different attitude entirely. Theirs' consisted mainly of determination with a little apprehension and worry mixed in. Except for Harry, they had all owled their families last night, letting them know that they would be staying at the school for the foreseeable future. There were just too many things that needed to be done over the break for them to go home.

Harry was the most worried out the bunch though. He had spent last night trying to figure out what was the best way to tell Professor Dumbledore that he no longer held the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts and how he might react to the news. Harry had finally fallen asleep after deciding to consult with Hermione and Ron.

So when Harry woke up that morning his determination overruled his worry. He threw back the curtains on his bed and grabbed his glasses off of the nightstand. After putting them on, he looked around to see what his dormmates were doing. Seamus and Dean were in the process of getting up. Harry preferred not to focus on them as Seamus had been a problem this year due to the lies that had been printed in the Daily Prophet and him choosing to believe them. Unfortunately, this caused Dean to side with his friend although he had never actually come out and said he believed what the paper had been saying.

Harry noticed that Neville's bed was empty and figured he was in the loo getting his shower. Ron was of course, asleep. Harry smiled as he shook his head and got out of bed to make his way over to his best friend. After spending few minutes trying to wake him up, Harry decided to resort to drastic measures. He moved to the other side of the room and turned back to Ron's bed.

"Ron," Harry shouted. "Your brothers have eaten almost all of the breakfast! You better get a move on!"

Ron sat straight up and started to frantically untangle himself from his sheets while he tried to get out of bed at the same time. Unfortunately for him, the laws of Physics still can apply even with the presence of magic, and he fell on the floor to laughter from Harry and Neville who had reentered the room.

"That wasn't funny Harry," said Ron as he lay on the floor. "I could have killed myself!"

"It may not have been funny to you," Harry snickered. "But it was hilarious to us. Besides I've been trying to wake you up for about ten minutes now. You need to get a move on so we can meet Hermione down in the common room to go to breakfast."

"Yeah, yeah," grumbled Ron as he began to try and free himself from his sheets. "I'm going."

"Well hurry up," Harry said with a grimace. "I don't want to have to listen to Hermione lecture on the importance of being on time again."

Ron snorted his agreement as he finally managed to stand up after winning his daily morning battle against the sheets that, in Ron's mind, would like nothing better than to pull him back to bed to sleep some more.

After asking Neville to wait for them, Harry and Ron proceeded to the loo to get ready for the day. Once their showers were done they came out to get dressed and Neville gave Harry some advice.

"Harry," he said a little nervously after making sure that Seamus and Dean had left the room. "I don't know if you're aware but since you are going to be trying to meet with the Goblins about financial matters, it might be best if you dress a little more professionally than just school robes. The goblins might take it as a sign of disrespect if you show up in such casual attire for what could be an important meeting. At least that is what my Gran always said."

"But," Harry stuttered in his worry. "I don't have anything professional. What do I do?"

After pausing to think for a few minutes, Neville seemed to gather his courage before he started to issue orders. "Ron, you need to go and get Hermione and bring her up here. Make sure that no one sees you. Harry, you need to call one of the house-elves who can tailor and ask them to come also. I will start sorting through the clothing you do have and see what we have to work with."

Both Ron and Harry sent Neville amazed but thankful looks and hurried to carry out their orders. Ron ran downstairs to find Hermione as Harry concentrated on asking the castle to quickly send an elf up that could tailor.

Neville, meanwhile, had started pulling out all of the clothing that Harry had and separating it into piles. He was beginning to get a little desperate as Harry didn't seem to have anything other than school robes. Finally though, he came to Harry's dress robes from last year. He looked them over and decided that they would have to do.

Ron and Hermione came running into the room at the same time that an elf popped in. Neville started to speak before Hermione could ask what was wrong.

"Hermione and…" Neville said as he looked towards the elf to get its name.

"Silky, sir." The elf bowed.

"Silky," Neville continued. "Harry needs your help. The other purebloods and I forgot to mention it last night but when Harry shows up to meet with the Goblins he needs to be dressed appropriately or they might take it as a sign of disrespect. Unfortunately, all Harry has to work with are his dress robes from the Yule Ball last year. Hermione do you know of any tailoring charms that we could use? And Silky is there anything you can do to help?"

Hermione took a few seconds to get over this forceful Neville before she turned to the robes on display.

"Well," she said. "From what I remember reading, business meetings are usually conducted in formal but not dressy robes. So these are a good starting point but I am going to change the color to predominately black and leave the green as an accent color." She took out her wand and began to wave it around the robes which changed colors as she spoke.

"I also think that the bow tie is too dressy," she said with a frown of concentration. "So I am going to change that into a high collar. I don't know any lengthening charms though." As she finished the robes looked exactly like what she wanted. They were just too short for Harry to wear.

It was here that Silky chimed in. "Silky knows of ways to make robes longer. Silky can have done in hour." she said as she nodded her head firmly. "Will also make clean and pressed for Headmaster." She grabbed the robes and popped out.

Harry looked gratefully at the three still standing there. "Thanks guys. Especially you Neville. I never would have known if you hadn't told me! Now that the robes are taken care of, let's go down to breakfast."

The three students followed Harry down to the Great Hall. They spoke of trivial things being that they couldn't guarantee who was listening. Once they had sat down, Harry looked around the room and nodded to those students who were helping him. The four friends filled their plates and started to eat. After a few minutes Hermione put up a silencing charm so that they could talk.

"Okay guys," said Harry. "Here's the deal. I need to tell Dumbledore what is going on but I have no idea as to how to do that. I don't even know where the man is! Any suggestions?"

The table was silent except for chewing sounds when Hermione said. "Well, I don't think it would be really nice to tell him in a letter. For something like this you're better off explaining things in person. But if you don't know where he is then that could be a problem."

Ron shrugged as he finished chewing. "Just owl him and ask him to meet you at Grgrglbgle…" he trailed off in confusion.

Harry and Neville stared at Ron in amusement.

"Ron! Don't talk with your mouth full!" Hermione reprimanded him.

"But my mouth isn't full!" said Ron in protest. "Anyway, just owl Dumbledore and ask him to meet you at Graaghghlbgle… Okay this is getting ridiculous! What the bloody hell is going on!?"

"Oh," cried Hermione in realization. "Harry he's talking about that place we were at over the summer. You know… the one we can't speak of? That's why his words are coming out so jumbled. The magic is keeping him from saying the words since Neville here doesn't know them. Sorry Neville but we can't tell you either as evidenced by Ron trying to speak."

Harry and Neville were snickering as they watched Ron continue to try and say Grimmauld Place. Neville turned to Hermione and said "That's all right Hermione. I don't really need to know where Harry is going to meet the Professor," and went back to laughing at Ron.

"Anyway," Harry said as he finally managed to stop himself seeing as how Ron had given up. "I'll owl Dumbledore and ask him to meet me there sometime this afternoon if possible. Right now though, I need to go get dressed so I'll meet you in the Room of Requirement in about an hour."

Harry stood up and looked towards McGonagall. When he had caught her eye he nodded his head and pointed up as if pointing towards the Room.

She returned the nod and stood up to deliver the message that the professors had composed over breakfast this morning. "Students, may I have your attention please?"

She waited as the Great Hall grew quiet. "As you can see, Professor Dumbledore is not here right now to send you on your way. Unfortunately, he had some pressing business to attend to but wanted me to wish you all a happy yule time and we shall see you next year. The Express will be leaving in an hour so make sure you have everything packed and enjoy your holidays."

She sat down to applause from the students who then started to get up and make their way to their dorms to do any last minute packing. Harry's student advisors all made their way over to him to let him know that their parents had okayed them staying at Hogwarts for the break. The only exception was Draco Malfoy who managed to catch Harry just outside the Great Hall.

"Well Potter," Draco half-heartedly sneered. "It seems that you will once again be staying here seeing as you have nowhere else to go. I pity Professor Snape in having to put up with you over the break."

Draco shoved by Harry and as he did so, dropped a note in his pocket.

Harry held Ron back as Draco made his way down the stairs to the dungeons. "He gave me a note Ron," Harry said quietly. "Remember, I asked them to act as if nothing had changed so we don't give anything away just yet."

While Ron was still red in the face, he did manage to nod in acknowledgement. Harry pulled the note out once the students had all left and read it. It told how Draco couldn't stay over the holidays as it would be too suspicious and his parents would start to question what he was up to. Thankfully the other Slytherins would be able to stay and they could still owl him if they had any questions or concerns that no one else could answer and to give him updates as to what was happening.

Harry showed them the note and they continued on their way to the dorms where Harry met Silky who had his robes done. After changing into them he thanked Silky and made his way to the Room while Neville, Ron, and Hermione hung around the common room so it wouldn't look suspicious.

Harry requested the same room as yesterday including the physical manifestation of Hogwarts and entered to find everything as they had left it, notes included. Harry greeted Hogwarts and sat down to ask her some questions.

"Lady Hogwarts," he began. "As you know I am planning several meetings today including the Goblins of Gringotts. Is there any way that this physical part of you may leave the school to come with me?"

"Regrettably there isn't," said Hogwarts in a sad voice. "I would love to come with you but my magic only extends as far as the borders of the school. I can't even step outside to go to the Quidditch pitch let alone all the way to London."

Harry sighed in resignation. "I figured it was something like that. It will cause problems in helping me prove you are alive though, but if there is nothing we can do then there is no use whining about it."

"Next," Harry said. "I am going to ask you to run the meeting between the teachers and students while I am away. I don't want them getting carried away arguing or getting bogged down in the finer details if you can help it."

"I can do that Harry." said Hogwarts as she nodded.

"And finally," Harry said as he felt some anxiousness creep into his voice. "I was hoping that you might have some information on goblin customs that I can go over before I have to leave for the bank?"

Hogwarts screwed up her face in concentration before several books appeared. "That's all the school has currently." she said in an apologetic voice.

"Thank you," Harry said gratefully as he looked the books over. "This should be fine. I am going to read these and make some notes before the others arrive. Quick question. Can Hedwig get in here to grab a note from me to deliver to Dumbledore?"

"I can open a window outside to let her in and out temporarily, if that will help." Hogwarts said.

"Perfect!" Harry cried as he grabbed a sheet of parchment and started writing down his request to meet Dumbledore at Grimmauld Place later that day. He included some vague references to what had happened but made sure to mention that he needed to speak to Dumbledore in person as what he had to tell him could not be mentioned in a letter.

A few minutes later, Hedwig flew into the room just as Harry finished the note. He turned to Hedwig to tie the note to her leg and said "Here you go girl. Please take this to Professor Dumbledore as fast as you can. I am hoping for a response before I leave this morning."

Hedwig barked her agreement before running her beak over Harry's cheek and taking off. She quickly vanished out the window which closed behind her. Harry turned back to the books on the table and started to go over the information.

"Let me know if you need anything." Hogwarts said before she vanished.

Harry spent the next hour or so reading through the books and taking notes on the customary greetings, rules of etiquette, and other assorted things he felt he needed to know. He also wrote down some questions that he had concerning Hogwarts' finances. He was about done when Fawkes flamed into the room and settled on the table in front of Harry.

"Fawkes," cried Harry in surprise. "I didn't think Dumbledore would send you! I thought he would just send a reply back with Hedwig. How're you two doing?"

Fawkes crooned in reply before showing Harry his leg where there was a note tied. Harry spent the next few seconds scratching Fawkes head before reaching for the note. He unrolled it and read Dumbledore's reply.

_H-_

_I will be most willing to meet with you anytime this afternoon at our previous summer residence. Please let me know if you cannot manage to find a way here today and I will try and send Fawkes for tomorrow._

_D._

"Thanks for delivering this to me Fawkes," Harry said as he flipped the note over to write his reply on the back. "Can you deliver this back to him? And is he in Grimmauld Place right now?"

Fawkes crooned an affirmative as he shook his feathers out.

"Great," Harry said. "Would you mind also taking a note to Remus and Sirius without letting the Professor know? I am hoping they can meet with me at Gringotts and help me out but I am not sure as to whether Dumbledore would agree to it."

Fawkes paused his preening and seemed to think it over before bobbing his head yes.

Harry grinned his thanks and quickly scribbled another note to Moony and Padfoot asking them to meet him at Gringotts with Sirius in his Snuffles disguise.

Fawkes took the notes and flamed out just as the students and professors opened the door.

"Mr. Potter," said McGonagall curiously. "Was that Fawkes that I just saw?"

"Yes Professor," Harry nodded his head. "I sent Professor Dumbledore a note with Hedwig asking to meet later so that I can tell him what happened. Fawkes brought his answer and left."

McGonagall merely nodded and moved further into the room. Once everyone was settled Harry stood up to address everybody. "I was hoping that I could ask you to go over the classes with the professors and get started on a list of qualifications for the junior professors and possibly some recommendations for my adult council while I am gone. I asked Lady Hogwarts to be present for this meeting so that she can provide any answers to questions you might have."

"Where is Malfoy?" called Justin as he looked around.

"Malfoy had to go home for break seeing as how his parents would be to suspicious about why he would want to stay and start asking questions we don't need right now. He did say that we can owl him if we need his help." As Harry was explaining he passed the note he had received from Draco earlier that morning around to all of the people present.

"Ah." they said as they read the note that Malfoy had written. It made sense. Malfoy wanting to stay when he almost always went home for the hols was indeed something to question.

"So," Harry said as he rubbed his hands nervously. "I am going to leave you to it and be on my way. I have no idea how long this meeting will go or even if I will be able to see someone right away. I will tell you what happens when I get back. Good luck people and thanks for the help!"

Harry gathered a copy of the notebooks along with the questions that he had written down to words of encouragement from the students and professors and made his way out of the room. It took him a few minutes, even with the shortcuts that he knew of, but he managed to make his way to the Headmaster's office. Well, his office now he reminded himself.

He stopped at the gargoyle guarding the office and realized that he did not know the password. Before he could even start to become frustrated the gargoyle opened his mouth and said "Password?"

Harry jumped back in shock. He hadn't known that the gargoyle could talk! He hesitantly approached it again in time to hear it say "Password please."

"I'm sorry," Harry said uncomfortably. "I don't know the password."

If ever a gargoyle could look amused this one managed it. "No Headmaster. I need you to assign a new password for me to respond to."

"Oh," Harry said startled. "Oh! Give me a minute please."

Harry sat in thought. What could his password be? It had to be something that he would easily remember but that wouldn't be obvious and easy to guess like Dumbledore's passwords had been. Finally he thought of something.

"I have it now," Harry said as he turned to look at the gargoyle again. "I would like the new password to be Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs. Is that okay?"

"Password change accepted." stated the gargoyle and then moved aside.

Harry thanked the gargoyle and continued up the stairs. When he reached the top he opened the door to his new office. Inside he found it completely changed from when he had been in here yesterday.

While all of the portraits were still hanging, anything that had belonged to Dumbledore was now sitting in neat little boxes that were stacked against the wall. The room seemed empty and bland without all of Dumbledore's silver trinkets scattered around. The desk and chairs were gone along with Fawkes' perch. The only thing that seemed to have been left was the bookshelves and even they were looking a little bare.

Dobby popped in as Harry was contemplating what to do.

"Master Harry Potter sir," called Dobby excitedly. "What can Dobby be doing for you?"

"Dobby," Harry said in relief. "What happened here? Why is everything packed up?"

"Master Harry Potter sir new Headmaster," Dobby bounced in place as he spoke. "Elves be coming and packing up all of Dumbleydore sir's things so Harry Potter sir could move his stuff in."

"Oh," said Harry as he tried to think of any 'stuff' he had. "I don't really have any stuff to put in an office Dobby. Where do I get a desk and chairs and things like that?"

"Dobby can help Harry Potter sir," he shouted before slumping in realization. "But Dobby not allowed to make purchases in Harry Potter's name since Dobby is not Harry Potter's elf. Unless Harry Potter sir would like to bond with Dobby?" It was here that Dobby looked up hopefully.

"Dobby," Harry said in shock. "You want to be my elf? I thought you loved being free!"

Dobby hesitantly nodded. "Dobby does like being free from former bad master but Dobby knows that the great Harry Potter sir would never be bad master!"

"I am so confused," Harry said in frustration. "You like being a free elf but you want to bond with me? I don't understand."

Dobby seemed to think about it for a few seconds before nodding his head firmly. "Harry Potter sir must know that free elf not survive without bond. Bond is where house-elf gets magic. Keeps house-elf alive. Without it, house-elf go crazy and die. Former Headmaster Dumbleydore bonded Dobby to castle but is weak bond and already castle has too many elves for what little work there is. Dobby alive but not as happy as could be if bonded properly. Dobby would like to bond with Harry Potter sir. Much work to be done and Dobby happy again."

"Bloody hell," Harry said blankly. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? And does Hermione know this?"

Dobby shrugged. "Harry Potter sir so happy he able to help Dobby to be free, Dobby didn't have heart to tell Sir. Once Dobby got work at castle, things better. But Harry Potter sir now Headmaster and will have lots of work if Dobby allowed to bond and Dobby would be happy. Harry Potter sir's Grangy has good heart but doesn't know house-elves. Castle elves to scared to tell Sir's Grangy."

Harry sighed in resignation. This was going to kill Hermione. "All right Dobby. I'll bond you to me as my personal house-elf but the first thing you have to do is go tell Hermione what you told me. I know she probably won't believe you at first but you need to convince her okay? Ask the castle elves to help you and let them know it is for me."

Dobby bounced around the room in his excitement. "Dobby knew Harry Potter sir the greatest wizard in the world!"

"So what do I have to do to bond you to me?" Harry asked as he tried to calm the excited elf.

Dobby stopped bouncing immediately. "Harry Potter sir must take Dobby's hand and say 'I take into my personal employment the house-elf known as Dobby.' This will bond Dobby as personal elf instead of just Potter elf."

"Wait," Harry said dazed. "The Potters have house-elves?"

Dobby shook his head. "Dobby doesn't know but can find out later."

"Okay," Harry sighed as he moved to take Dobby's hand. "Here we go. I take into my personal employment the house-elf known as Dobby."

There was slight glow that only lasted for a few seconds as Harry felt a small tug at his magic and then it was over.

"Alright," Harry said as he rolled his shoulders. "I have a meeting to get to and you have some explaining to do to Hermione. Can you hear me call if I am in Gringotts?"

"Yes Harry Potter sir." Dobby said as he nodded frantically.

"Well that's useful," Harry mumbled to himself. "Okay. While I am at the bank I'll see about getting you added to my vault then I am going to ask you to go do some shopping for office furniture. So just be prepared."

Dobby nodded his head and popped out to go speak to the other elves about Hermione. As Harry was gathering himself, he heard one of the portraits trying to get his attention. He turned around and found himself looking at another portrait of Phineas Black.

"Yes," Harry asked, confused. "Can I help you?"

"Your godfather and his _friend_ wanted me to let you know that they will meet you at the bank," Phineas sneered. "They thought I might be able to catch you before you left the school since you would have to leave via the fireplace in this office."

"Thank you," Harry said gratefully. "You won't tell Dumbledore what's happened until I can get there to explain it will you?"

"Of course not," Phineas smiled nastily. "I want to be there to see the reaction on his face when _you_ tell him."

"Um," Harry mumbled. "Thanks. I think."

Harry grabbed some floo powder out of a jar on the mantelpiece and threw it into the fire. "Diagon Alley!" he called as he stepped through the flames. After a few minutes of the nausea producing spinning, the flames spat him out into the Leaky Cauldron. It took Harry a little bit to recover before he left to make his way towards Gringotts. He walked with his head down and hair covering his scar. He did not want any recognition this day from the populace. He had enough to deal with!

He nodded his head at the goblin guards as he finally made his way through the large doors and entered the bank. Once he was in the lobby, he decided to wait for Padfoot and Moony before trying to speak to any of the goblins. He placed himself next to an alcove and waited. He had seen a few goblins looking at him curiously but making no move to confront him. After about twenty minutes, Harry saw Remus enter the doors with Sirius in his Snuffles disguise.

"Professor Lupin," Harry called out. "Over here."

Both Remus and Snuffles turned to see Harry standing in a corner and waving them over. Snuffles bounded over and pounced on Harry, licking as much of his face as could get to. Harry laughed as he tried to shove Snuffles off of him. Remus arrived and managed to pull Snuffles off of Harry with some effort.

"Hello Harry," Remus said with a smile before turning a confused frown in Harry's direction. "Snuffles and I got your message. But what do you need help with that you don't want Dumbledore to know?"

Harry looked around the lobby before replying. "Let's get somewhere private and I'll tell you. I need to meet with the goblins anyway so wait just a few minutes, okay?"

Remus, although still looking confused, nodded and followed Harry to the nearest available teller.

Harry, with Remus and Snuffles standing beside him, politely waited for the teller to waive him up. Once standing in front of the desk Harry asked the goblin "Excuse me. May I please speak to someone about possibly opening an account?"

Remus and Snuffles exchanged confused looks. Harry already had his trust vault and the Potter vaults beyond that. Why would he need to open another account?

The goblin was also confused. All of the tellers are made aware of whom the bank's major clients are and one of the biggest was standing here in front of him asking to open an account instead of speaking to his account manager. He shrugged and decided not to try and understand wizards. It just gave goblins a headache. "Mr. Potter, all business you have with the bank may be conducted through your account manager Rockaxe." he stated firmly.

Harry looked startled. Account manager? What account manager? He turned to get an explanation from Remus. "Why would I need an account manager Professor Lupin?"

"Call me Remus, Harry," Remus said slowly in confusion. "Or Moony if you prefer. And the Potter accounts have always had an account manager. They are one of the biggest estates in Britain. You won't be able to access them until you are seventeen though."

"Oh," Harry sounded startled. "I didn't realize the Potters were rich. I thought I just had my trust vault."

"No," Remus smiled. "That is, as its name implies, a trust vault. It's there for your schooling and any small extra purchases like brooms you might need until you are recognized as an adult and can take over the main vaults."

Harry looked thoughtful for a few minutes at these implications before shrugging them off. He turned to the teller again. "What if my business is not Potter business? Should I still speak to Rockaxe or do I need to see someone else?"

The goblin, werewolf, and dog all looked at Harry. Eventually, the teller replied "It's probably best if you just start with Rockaxe. He will be able to point you in the right direction once you explain what you need. I will have a goblin show you the way."

He waived a goblin over and spent a few seconds speaking in Gobbledygook before turning back to Harry. "Spearthrust will show you to Rockaxe's office."

Harry nodded his thanks and they followed Spearthrust into a hallway filled with doors. The goblin stopped at a door with Rockaxe's name on it and opened it to let them in. He closed it behind them as Harry took a quick look around the office.

Once he was done, he faced the goblin sitting behind the large desk, bowed and said "May your wealth flow like a mighty river and your enemies be crushed as easily as an insect Account Manager Rockaxe." Harry hoped he had said that right. He hadn't had much time to memorize the greetings in the books that Hogwarts had provided for him.

While Remus and Snuffles looked amazed, the goblin Rockaxe looked pleased. "And may your wealth build like the mountains and your enemies fall before you like leaves in a storm Harry Potter. So mote it be."

Rockaxe waived for them to sit down. "Mr. Black, you may go ahead and transform back for this meeting."

As Harry and Remus exchanged frantic looks, Sirius changed back into his human form. He bowed and greeted Rockaxe before they could say anything.

Rockaxe noticed that Harry and Remus were becoming increasingly worried and so tried to calm them. "Do not worry Mr. Potter and Mr. Lupin. Lord Black is perfectly safe while he is in Gringotts. Until he receives an actual trial from the ministry declaring him guilty, he is presumed innocent here at the bank. I am guessing from the fact that he is here with you two and you are not worried, that he is in fact innocent of what he has been accused of." He sent them looks of amusement when the three humans nodded their heads energetically in agreement.

Rockaxe allowed them to sit down again and then said "So on to business. What can I do for you today Mr. Potter?"

Harry settled himself down and started to speak. "I have some questions that are not related to the Potter family but before I get to them I need to give my personal house elf Dobby access to my trust vault. Would that be allowed?"

Rockaxe started reaching for parchment in his desk. "That would be acceptable Mr. Potter. Please call your elf as I prepare the paperwork."

Although Harry knew that Dobby had told him he would be able to hear him even in Gringotts, he was still a little hesitant when he called, "Dobby?"

There was a pop as Dobby appeared before Harry vibrating with excitement. "The great Harry Potter sir called for Dobby?" It was then that he noticed the other two men sitting next to Harry. "Hello Harry Potter sir's Dogfather and Wolfie!" he said as he waved at them in greeting.

Remus and Sirius both had smiles on their faces as they waved back at the funny little house elf. It was amusing the strays that Harry managed to pick up throughout the years.

"Dobby," said Harry as he tried to calm the elf down. "Manager Rockaxe is going to give you access to my vaults. Once that is done I need you to go shopping for the items we spoke of earlier. Please make sure that try and get everything you think I might need. But no flourishes! I detest them." Harry grimaced as he was reminded of his Aunt Petunia and the Dursleys who were of the mindset that 'the more elaborate things were, the richer you were.' "I prefer a more modern style. Just make sure that it is comfortable and functional as I am going to be using it quite a bit please."

Once again Remus and Sirius exchanged looks, only this time they were ones of confusion at their godson's orders to his elf. What in the world was Harry wanting the elf to buy for him?

Just as Harry finished giving Dobby his requests, Rockaxe looked up from his paperwork. "Dobby, you will need to give us a sample of your magical signature for our records. This will let us know you are who you say you are when a request for payment comes in." He handed the document over to the elf.

Dobby took the sheet of parchment in both hands and screwed up his face in concentration. The parchment glowed slightly before returning to normal. He then handed it back to Rockaxe and firmly nodded his head. "Dobby is done!"

"Thanks you Dobby," Rockaxe said with a sharp-toothed smile on his face. Harry could only assume it was amusement.

Dobby turned back to Harry and said "Dobby be off now Harry Potter sir to begin shopping. Please call Dobby if sir needs anything!" and vanished with a pop.

"Thank you Manager Rockaxe," Harry said with a small bow of his head. "I will move on to the business I came here for but first I must explain the story behind the questions I have if that is okay with you Manager Rockaxe?"

Rockaxe looked intrigued. "Very well then, proceed."

Harry gave Remus and Sirius a worried look but began to tell the story. He told them of Umbridge and her deplorable teaching, how the DA came about, what Marietta had done, and the meeting that had taken place in Dumbledore's office yesterday.

When he went over the fact that the Ministry had tried to arrest Dumbledore for treason and his subsequent escape with Fawkes, even Rockaxe looked amazed at the audacity. Harry moved on to explain how the castle woke up which caused everybody in the room to make noises of shock. Harry allowed them time to recover from those implications. He was really nervous about how Remus and Sirius were going to react over the next part.

When they had finally settled down, Harry told them what Hogwarts had said and how she had chosen Harry as the new Headmaster. He cringed as he waited for their reactions.

After a few seconds of quiet shock, Sirius burst into laughter. "That's got to be the best prank ever pulled Prongslet! I can't believe we fell for it!"

"Um… Sirius," said Remus as he looked over at Harry and watched the way he had reacted to Sirius' statement. "I don't think that Harry is joking."

"Well of course he is joking," Sirius waved him off. "As if a thousand year old castle would make a fifteen year old student, who is still in school by the way, the Headmaster of the same school! It's a great prank though Harry. Really had us going there for a few minutes."

Harry finally gathered his nerve and looked up. "I am not joking Padfoot. The castle really did make me the new Headmaster."

Sirius stopped laughing immediately. He knew that tone of voice from James and Lily. It meant that they were completely serious and were not laughing any more. He exchanged looks with Remus and then turned back to Harry.

"But… why?" Sirius asked in confusion.

Harry blushed a little as he told the two of Hogwarts' requirements and how she had gone through the professors and then worked her way down through the students until she found him.

Sirius and Remus could be seen nodding their heads in agreement with Hogwarts' requirements and how Harry definitely fit them.

"Well Prongslet," Sirius said in amazement. "Remus and I will definitely help you however we can. I am assuming you have already thought of some things since you are here to speak to the goblins?"

"Yes," Rockaxe finally spoke. "Please enlighten me as to what you need from Gringotts."

Harry went over his student advisors and what they had come up with. He passed his notebooks around for the other three to look at. He mentioned that he was here today because they were going to want to hire a bunch of new professors and needed to see about the finances and how they were handled.

Rockaxe shook his head. "Unfortunately, that is not something I can help you with. The Hogwarts accounts are looked after by Ragnok, the Director of Gringotts' London Branch. You will need to speak to him when discussing those matters."

Harry was disappointed. This meant that he would most likely not be able to handle the financial aspects for a while seeing as how Ragnok would require an appointment and not be able to meet with him today.

"Do not look so disappointed Mr. Potter," Rockaxe stated with a smile. "I believe that once I go explain things to him, he will be happy to meet with you today. I am going to request that you lend me those notebooks you have so that I can show them to the Director though."

Harry quickly agreed and asked Remus to duplicate the notebooks which he then gave to Rockaxe. The goblin left the office to speak with the Director and Harry was left explaining some of the things that he and the students had come up with. He was going over some of the possible new classes to Remus and Sirius' jealousy when Rockaxe came back.

"The Director has agreed to meet with you this morning," Rockaxe said showing no emotion on his face. "If you'll follow me please?"

Rockaxe took them through a maze of tunnels until finally they came to a large double-door entrance that was made of gold and decorated with scenes of goblin battles while flanked by two goblin guards. Rockaxe nodded at one of the guards who proceeded to knock on the door and then open it.

Harry and company walked into a large opulent office. It had paintings and tapestries of goblins hung on the walls and shelves full of books and what seemed to be trophies of some sort. There was a large desk with several comfortable-looking chairs situated in front of it. Behind the desk was the largest goblin Harry had ever seen.

Harry immediately bowed and said "Director Ragnok." He kept his head down as according to the books he had read, he was supposed to wait for an acknowledgement from the Director before lifting his head.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, and Lord Black," said the goblin in a voice that sounded like gravel grinding together. "Please be seated and we can get started on why you came to Gringotts today."

Harry sat down in one of the chairs and was joined by Remus and Sirius. He placed his notebooks down in his lap and waited for the Director to speak.

"Now," Ragnok said with a stern look at Harry. "Rockaxe has explained your story to me and while normally I would not have believed it, I checked your file and it has updated to show that you are in fact the new Headmaster of Hogwarts. This is a good thing seeing as how if had not shown that information I would never had agreed to meet you. Most likely, I would have had you thrown out of my bank. Only the Headmaster and Deputy Head have access to the Hogwarts accounts or we would not be discussing this right now."

Harry paled in shock and relief. He had known that there would be problems since Hogwarts could not leave the school to prove what he was saying was true but he hadn't thought that it might cause him to not be able to access the accounts. Thank Merlin for the goblins' self-updating files!

Ragnok got right down to business. "I have been told by Rockaxe of a few of your plans but first we need to go over what is already in the account and how the budget for the school works."

Harry nodded as he pulled out a fresh notebook and got ready to take down what the Director told him. Remus and Sirius also asked to make copies of the notebooks so that they may take their own notes and questions they might have.

"Currently," began Ragnok. "Hogwarts School takes in around two million galleons each year in tuition from the four hundred or so students. A student's tuition is 5,000 galleons for each year. That number does fluctuate when the student population does but generally stays constant. This is the gold that provides the professors their salaries, purchases any supplies the school might need including potion ingredients, food, and other assorted items, and also keeps the library and hospital up to date with what they might need."

Harry and the others were frantically scribbling this down in their notebooks. Harry wanted to make sure he understood how many galleons it costs to run a school like Hogwarts and what it was going to cost for him to make the changes they had already discussed.

"This budget does cover everything but it does not leave any gold left over for improvements," Ragnok said with a pointed look at Harry. "For you to be able to create the new classes and hire all the new professors, you are going to have to come up with a way to take in more galleons. Granted, you said that you had a plan for bringing in new students but at most, that gold won't start coming in until at least next year. Another thing you are going to need to look at is the professors' salaries. If they are not competitive with the other schools out there then they will not be willing to transfer to Hogwarts to teach and that may add even more gold needed on top of what you already don't have."

Harry sat back in his chair. He couldn't think of anything that would allow him to bring in more gold for the school. It wasn't like the school could sell anything for a profit. He looked at Remus and Sirius to see if they had thought of anything.

"Sorry Prongslet," Sirius said with a small shrug. "I have no idea as to how Hogwarts can come up with that amount of gold."

"The only thing I can think of," said Remus with a thoughtful look. "Is to start asking for donations now. The problem with that is Hogwarts would still have to wait for the galleons to build to a significant amount and that could also take a while."

Harry slumped in resignation. He would have to wait until next year to even begin to try and make any changes. Who knew running a school required so much gold?

Ragnok interrupted Harry's musings. "There is a way that you can get the money now."

Harry perked up. "How?"

"You can loan yourself the galleons needed." Ragnok said with a sly smile.

While Harry looked confused, Sirius and Remus had looks of dawning enlightenment on their faces. "The Potter accounts! Of course! Why didn't we think of that?"

"Huh?" Harry asked the obviously excited men.

"Harry," Sirius said excitedly. "The Potter vaults! You can take the galleons you need for the school out of your own money. It's brilliant! This way you won't have to worry about waiting for the gold to accumulate from donations and other things. You can get started right away."

"But Padfoot," Harry said in worry. "You said I had to be seventeen to access those vaults and that is an awful lot of gold. Are you sure the Potter vaults have that much? I don't want to completely empty them in case there is an emergency later on."

Everybody in the office except Harry laughed.

"What," asked Harry confused and a little irritated. "What are you laughing at? It's a legitimate concern!"

"Actually Mr. Potter," snorted Ragnok in laughter. "It's not. The Potter family holdings are one of if not the largest estate in all of Europe. A measly loan of a few million galleons to Hogwarts will not even make a dent in your vaults."

"Wh… what," stuttered Harry in shock. "I have that much gold?"

"The Potters have always had a knack for making money." Ragnok agreed.

"And the sad thing is," groaned Sirius as he recovered from his bout of laughter. "Is that most of the time, they don't even mean to do it. It's been driving the other noble families, including the Blacks, crazy for centuries."

"I don't understand." Harry said as he looked at Remus for an explanation.

"Well you see Harry," Remus settled back down in his chair. "It's like this. The Potters have never really set out to make a lot of gold. They just had friends of whom they gave them some gold for starting a business. They didn't do it because they thought they could make a profit out of it, they did it because they're friends with the inventors."

"And that is where the knack for making money comes in to play. The majority of the time their friends ended up making a tidy profit of which they gave some to the Potters. A few times their friends ended up becoming huge and making millions of galleons if not more and, once again, they gave a portion to the Potters in payment. That's where they got the Potter family motto of _Fortuna Comes Virtutis_, or fortune the companion of virtue, came from. They were just trying to be nice and it paid off exponentially."

"Look Harry," Sirius said as he finally sat up straight again. "Let me give you an excellent example. I heard from the twins how you gave them the gold you won from the Tri-wizard Tournament which they are going to use to open up their Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes shop. You most likely gave them the money full out without expecting a return from them correct?"

Harry nodded his head yes in confusion.

"Well seeing as how you are a Potter," said Sirius as he stifled a snort of laughter. "What will most likely happen is that the twins will hit it big with their shop and they will set aside a portion of the profits to give to you. If you don't take it from them outright then they will have their account manager just move the money into a vault set aside for you or even just throw it into the main Potter vault. That's the way these things tend to work with your family." Sirius finished his explanation with a shrug.

"But… but I just gave that to them," Harry protested in shock. "They're supposed to use that for their store not to pay me back!"

"Sorry Pup," said Sirius with a grin. "But I'll bet if you checked with the twins you'll find that they have a budget for their new store which includes a portion of their profits set aside to be sent to you."

"Can I refuse to accept the money?" Harry asked with some desperation.

"You can," Remus said with an amused smile. "But all the twins would need to do is set up a vault in your name and then just put the money in there instead."

"Harry," Sirius gave him a pointed look. "The twins want to do this. Setting it up this way allows them to make you a silent partner and they don't have to feel like they accepted charity. Take it in the spirit it is given."

Harry opened his mouth to protest more but after glimpsing Remus and Sirius' faces, closed it once more as his shoulders slumped. "Fine." He grumbled.

He turned back to Ragnok who had been watching the argument with some bemusement. Harry flushed a light pink when he realized that he had been arguing in front of the Director.

"I apologize Director Ragnok," Harry stammered while bowing his head. "I did not mean to get into a disagreement with my guardian and take up your valuable time."

"That's quite alright Mr. Potter," Ragnok waived him off. "It is merely more evidence that you are in fact a member of the Potter family." He finished with a small laugh.

"I have to agree with the Director Prongslet," Sirius joined in the laughter. "I've never met anyone outside of your family that would argue against being given money."

"Well the Weasleys would due to the fact that they would consider it charity." Remus said with a fond smile on his face as he thought of the red-headed family.

"Let's get back to business," Ragnok said after he had finished laughing. "The Potter vaults are immense. You would have no problem covering the cost for the changes you have mentioned so far."

"I thought I couldn't access that money until I was seventeen?" asked Harry in confusion.

"Normally that would be correct Mr. Potter," said Ragnok with a nod. "However, your guardian is allowed to authorize the transaction and sign for you in this case."

"Oh," said Harry in stunned realization. "So Sirius could sign the loan papers for me. That's great! So how much should I loan the school?"

"That's a hard one Harry," Remus looked down at the notebook in his lap. "I think we need to go over a few things first and get an idea as to how much money the school may need."

"Good idea Moony," Sirius grinned. "No point in doing a loan for a certain amount of money and then later on find out you don't have enough."

"Why don't we set up a tentative budget?" suggested Ragnok. "We should be able to get an idea of what might be needed and go from there."

"The only thing is that I have no idea as to what costs what." Harry exclaimed in frustration. "I don't know how much the professors make in salary! I don't know what we pay for in food and other supplies! I just don't know anything about running a school!" Harry bent over when he realized that tears had gathered in his eyes.

Sirius and Remus exchanged worried glances and then moved to crouch down on both sides of Harry's chair.

"Hey Cub," Remus tried to calm Harry down as he looked so miserable. "It's okay. You aren't expected to know this information. That's why Lady Hogwarts wanted you to get help. She doesn't want you doing everything by yourself. You've got me and Sirius, the students on your council, the professors, and probably many more people once this gets off the ground."

"Poor Prongslet," Sirius ran his hand through Harry's hair. "Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Yes, you are the new headmaster, but you are only fifteen years old. We know that you are going to make mistakes, in fact everybody knows that, but you're human and mistakes are going to happen."

"If you don't know something, find someone to ask." Remus said while rubbing Harry's back in a soothing manner. "I was a professor so I can give you an idea as to salaries and Sirius was trained to negotiate contracts for the Black family from an early age. I am sure the Director has a record of what Hogwarts has paid in the past for things. Just remember, you don't have to do this yourself."

"Okay." Harry mumbled in a quiet voice.

Remus and Sirius got up from their crouched positions and moved back to their seats. Sirius sent Ragnok a pleading look, asking him not to mention what had just happened.

Ragnok gave a small nod and cleared his throat. "Now, I have the budget for the previous years that we can use for a baseline. Although I do need to mention that most of these figures will change drastically as you improve things."

Harry pulled himself together and said "Why don't we start with salaries? I think that is going to be the biggest jump in numbers. Remus, what was your salary during my third year?"

"I made about 15,000 galleons that year," Remus said with a thoughtful look on his face. "I think that is what most of the professors make but I could be wrong."

"You are very close Mr. Lupin," Ragnok said while looking over the papers in front of him. "The Heads of Houses do make a little more with Professor McGonagall making the most since she also holds the Deputy Headmaster position. I can tell you that you will need to increase these numbers if you are going to want to lure so many teachers here."

"Based on what we've seen so far, I would put the four Heads of House at 25,000 galleons along with the Department Heads. For the junior professors, I would create an ascending system; 15,000 galleons to cover first and second years, 17,500 galleons to cover third and fourth years, and 20,000 galleons to cover fifth year and OWL review. The department heads will cover the sixth and seventh years since that is the NEWT studies." Sirius called out as he went over the students' notes.

"I would put the sixth and seventh year specialty elective professors at 25,000 galleons. It's going to be hardest to get those professors so you will need the incentive." said Ragnok with a small frown as he looked at the list of classes.

"As for the Administrative staff like the assistant heads, I would put them at 15,000 galleons. It's a good salary for a clerical assistant in Britain as they will mostly be dealing with paperwork and not the students." Remus nodded his head in confirmation of what he was saying.

"Do you think one person can hold more than one position?" questioned Harry. "I mean look at Professor McGonagall. I just feel that if we end up with as many students as we are hoping than she is going to be completely overwhelmed."

"That's a good point Harry." Remus had a small frown on his face as he thought it over. "My recommendation would be no but you need to speak to Professor McGonagall first. Let her know your concerns and see what she says."

Sirius shuddered. "I would hate to see what McGonagall would do if you went 'behind her back' so to speak and took away her jobs without talking to her first."

"So what are the total number of teacher and staff we have so far?" Harry asked as he tried to calculate the numbers.

"Moony?" Sirius questioned with a grin. He knew better than to even try and figure it out.

"Okay, so the Headmaster, Deputy Headmaster, their assistant, the four Heads of House each with an assistant puts us at a total of eleven staff so far which equals 250,000 galleons in salaries. I put the Deputy Headmaster at 35,000 galleons and Harry at 40,000 galleons." Remus recited as he looked at the ceiling while doing the math in his head.

"I don't need a salary," Harry protested. "I'm a student!"

"You are also the Headmaster who will get paid for doing his job." Sirius stated firmly as he gazed sternly at his godson. He was not going to allow anyone to cheat Harry including Harry himself.

After one look at Sirius, Harry grumbled but kept quiet. Remus and Ragnok exchanged amused but exasperated glances. They had never seen anyone so unwilling to accept money before.

"I have no idea as to what a guidance counselor should receive but based on the details of their job that you've described, I would put them at 20,000 galleons. Have you decided how many you are going to have?" Remus looked over at Harry in question.

Harry nodded. "I thought that we could have seven per house; a counselor for each year. They could be assigned to the students in first year and follow them through the years until they graduate. At that point they would go back and pick up the next first year class. This seems like it would be easier on both student and counselor as they wouldn't have to be constantly going to a different person in the students' case and the counselor would already know the student and their history if there are any problems."

"Makes sense to me." Sirius shrugged. He had no experience with guidance counselors and so couldn't really offer an opinion.

"So that is twenty-eight counselors at 20,000 galleons for a total of 560,000 galleons." Remus looked at Harry in concern. "That is an awfully big portion of the budget Cub. Are you sure you need that many?"

"I'm not really sure," Harry said with a small frown of concentration. That was a lot of money! "But we can always change it later. And who knows, we may not need that many counselors once we get the program running."

"Good point Mr. Potter," nodded Ragnok in agreement. "It's better to plan for more and have excess than not and come up short."

All three humans nodded their heads in thoughtful silence.

"So now we come to the hospital," Remus said with a look at the others. "I have no idea what Madame Pomfrey currently earns." He turned to look at the Director. "Are you allowed to discuss that with us in the room or do we need to leave?"

"Hmm," Ragnok steepled his fingers in front of his face. "I am only supposed to discuss actual numbers with Mr. Potter. However, I believe that he would immediately tell you?" he asked as he looked towards Harry fro confirmation, who nodded his head yes. "So I am not opposed to discussing this with you. But please be aware that this is confidential information and is not to be discussed anywhere you please." he finished with a stern look at all of them.

"We understand Director." chorused the three humans.

"Very well then," he harrumphed. "Currently, the hospital matron is earning 20,000 galleons. I would suggest increasing that to 25,000 if not maybe even 30,000 galleons. For the other two healers, I would recommend 20,000 galleons or so."

"I would go 25,000 galleons for Poppy and 20,000 galleons for the healers." Remus responded to Harry's questioning look. "It's competitive without overpaying and puts her in the same bracket as the Heads of House."

"Are you sure we shouldn't start at 30,000 galleons instead?" Harry asked in concern. "I don't want Madame Pomfrey to think I am not paying her enough."

"25,000 galleons is already a significant increase Prongslet," Sirius said with a reassuring smile. "Plus it allows for you to increase it more down the line if there is a need to."

Harry nodded his head hesitantly. "So the only thing left before the new teachers are the maintenance staff. I was thinking two groundskeepers and two caretakers. Maybe 20,000 galleons each or is that too much?"

"I think it would be too much Mr. Potter," called Ragnok. "Those jobs outside of Hogwarts only earn around 10,000 galleons. I think you should compromise at 15,000 galleons but no more."

"He's right Harry. A groundskeeper does not make much because it is considered a menial job. So you paying that much money would be just wasting it. Not many people are going to apply for these jobs as most people are trying for the higher paid skilled jobs."

Harry lit up as he had a thought. "Maybe we could hire out-of-work werewolves!"

Remus started and almost fell out of his chair. He sent Sirius a helpless look.

"It's definitely something to consider," Sirius beamed at his godson. "But first you need to make sure that you will be able to provide the Wolfsbane potion to them. Otherwise it wouldn't be an option."

"Do you think that some of the professors we will be hiring would be able to brew the potion if we provided the ingredients? I was hoping that we could lure some of the younger werewolves to school if we can promise wolfsbane." Harry anxiously gazed at Sirius.

"You would need to speak to Professor Snape about that Harry." Remus tried to sound calm as he lowered himself back into his chair again. "He is the one that invented the potion and so would know whether or not the younger professors would have the experience needed."

"Definitely something to check in to," Harry mumbled as he scribbled a note to himself. "Okay we need to break this down and see what we have for the budget so far. I think we should group it by position. There are a few things we are still unsure of like the Sports Department, so we'll leave those blank for now but this should give us a good idea of where we are."

**Hogwarts Budget**

(Salaries are in Galleons)

Staff

Headmaster...40,000

Deputy Headmaster...35,000

Deputy Assistant...15,000

Head of House (4 x 25,000)...100,000

House Assistant (4 x 15,000)...60,000

Groundskeeper (2 x 10,000)...20,000

Caretaker (2 x 10,000)...20,000

Hospital Matron...25,000

Healer (2 x 20,000)...40,000

Guidance Counselor (28 x 20,000)...560,000

Teachers

Transfiguration Department

Department Head...25,000

1st Junior Professor...15,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

Charms Department

Department Head...25,000

1st Junior Professor...15,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

Potions Department

Department Head...25,000

1st Junior Professor...15,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

Offensive/Defensive Magics Department

Department Head...25,000

1st Junior Professor...15,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

English/Latin Department

Department Head...25,000

1st Junior Professor...15,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

History Department

Department Head...25,000

1st Junior Professor...15,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

Muggle World Studies (Stops in fifth year)

Department Head...25,000

1st Junior Professor...15,000

2nd Professor...17,500

Wizarding World Studies (Stops in fifth year)

Department Head...25,000

1st Junior Professor...15,000

2nd Professor...17,500

Herbology Department (Starts in third year)

Department Head...25,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

Astronomy Department (Starts in third year)

Department Head...25,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

Arithmancy Department (Starts in third year)

Department Head...25,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

Runes Department (Starts in third year)

Department Head...25,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

Magical Creature Studies Department (Starts in third year)

Department Head...25,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

Arts Department (Starts in third year)

Department Head...25,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

Music Department (Starts in third year)

Department Head...25,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

World Magic Studies Department (Starts in third year)

Department Head...25,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

Item Creation Department (Starts in third year)

Department Head...25,000

2nd Professor...17,500

3rd Junior Professor...20,000

Sports Department

Department Head...25,000

Coaches... ?

Specialty Elective Professors (20 x 25,000)...500,000

Summary

Staff...915,000

Teachers

Department Heads (18)...450,000

1st Junior Professor (8)...120,000

2nd Junior Professor (17)...297,500

3rd Junior Professor (15)...300,000

Total...2,082,500

"Whoa," Harry said with a pale face. "That's a lot of money for just one year. And we haven't even gotten to the supplies yet!"

Although Remus was not as pale as Harry he was looking a little shocked himself. "Just remember Cub, you are loaning yourself this money to get the programs going. Once everything is up and running, you'll have a lot more students coming in which will provide tuition money to offset the costs."

"And you never know," Sirius chimed in. "We may be able to get the supplies at a really good price once we mention how much business we expect to be providing in a few years. So those costs will probably not be as high as your thinking. What you have to realize is that without good teachers, you don't really have a school."

Harry looked at Sirius blankly. "Who are you and what have you done to Padfoot?"

"Oi," Sirius yelped. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I think he means that we all know that Padfoot is the funny one, not the wise one." Remus said with a smirk.

"Excuse me," sputtered Sirius. "But I can be wise."

Remus and Harry exchanged laughing glances and then turned to Sirius. "Uh-huh."

Sirius slumped down in his chair and pouted as Harry and Remus laughed at him. Eventually, once the laughter had died down, Harry turned back to the list of teachers and staff they were going to require.

"The problem is finding all of the teachers and staff. I don't think that they keep a main list of all of the qualified people handy." Harry said with a frown.

"No," said Remus. "But the professors most likely know quite a few people who would fit the positions needed. You could also have them check for people going for their masteries. They do have certain qualifications they need to fulfill in order to receive them and I believe teaching would work well."

"Would there be enough people to do that?" asked Harry. "I really like the idea of helping the older students in achieving their masteries."

"You might not have enough candidates for some of the electives that you are planning on but I bet that you would be able to get teachers for a majority of the classes." Sirius piped in.

"I would speak to the professors when we get back to Hogwarts and see if they know of any former students who might be good teachers for the lower years and then use the mastery candidates for the upper years." Remus explained.

"The specialty electives positions will be harder to fill immediately so that may cause you to have to hold off until next year to start those classes." Ragnok informed him. "Unfortunately, most of the people who would be willing to teach those classes are in the middle of fulfilling contracts and so would not be available for at least a few months if not more."

"Well at least we could get started with most of the classes." Harry sighed in relief. "I was hoping that we would not have to wait until next year for all of them."

"And as for staff," Sirius said after he had gotten over his pouting. "You could probably advertise for them in the Daily Prophet. Just make sure you don't mention where it is going to be. I have no idea as to where you will be able to find those counselors though."

"You could try advertising for people who are good with teenagers and maybe organization, but otherwise I have no idea either." Remus said with a shrug.

"At least we have an idea now," Harry said with a grin. "Now what doe we do about the supplies? Do I need to do that or can I ask someone to do it for me? I have no idea as to how to go about negotiating those kinds of things."

"Mr. Potter," called Ragnok. "While normally a person would either take care of this themselves or designate a financial officer, I am willing to assign a junior account manager who would work with Lord Black and anyone else you deem necessary to the negotiations. All I would need you to do is send a letter telling me who all you will be assigning so that I do not discuss anything without your permission."

"Thank you Director Ragnok. May your generosity be reflected in the growth of your gold." Harry said with a small bow of thanks.

"So mote it be. You will need to send a list within the next few days of contracts you want re-negotiated. These things can take time so both I and the new junior account manager will want to get started as soon as possible. Lord Black," Ragnok turned to Sirius, who sat up straight in his chair. "Will you be available next week to go over everything?"

"Of course Director," Sirius stated firmly and then cracked a sardonic smile. "It's not like I can go many other places without being caught and thrown back into Azkaban."

Both Harry and Remus looked frustrated that there was nothing they could do to get Sirius cleared and then Harry had a thought. Maybe he could request that Madame Bones be one of his adult council. That would get her to Hogwarts without Minister Fudge and he could speak to her about what had happened. Plus, she was supposed to be a very fair and law-abiding department head in the ministry and would be beneficial to his counsel.

Harry managed to bring himself back to the present and the meeting that was going on. "Thank you Director. Once the contracts have been re-negotiated I will be able to send the new budget to you. From there we will be able to determine what the tuition will be for the students. I will also send notice if I would like to add anybody to the account to help Sirius take care of the finances. I would like to request that I may owl you any questions I may have concerning the finances in the future?"

"Of course Mr. Potter," said Ragnok with a nod. "I would prefer that you ask questions instead of assuming the answers and possibly getting yourself and the Hogwarts accounts in trouble."

"Then I thank you for agreeing to this meeting on such short notice Director. May your gold grow like an oak tree and your enemies fall before your blade like wheat in a field." Harry said as he bowed.

"And may your enemies fall like grains of sand in your hand and your gold grow like unwanted weeds in a garden. So mote it be." Ragnok said as he stood to escort them from his office.

All three humans stood up. As Harry and Remus gathered their notebooks, Sirius transformed back into Padfoot for the trip outside. They turned and walked out of the office; by mutual agreement, Remus and Harry both kept quiet until they were outside the bank. It was here that Remus turned and said "I will need to apparate you to Grimmauld Place. Unfortunately, it is not hooked up to the floo so it is our only option for travel unless you would like to take the Knight Bus?" he finished with a grin.

Harry quickly shook his head. There was no way he was riding the Knight Bus unless there was no other option available!

"Very well then," Remus said as he turned serious once more. "I will take Snuffles first. It should only take a minute or two so if I do not return in a few minutes I want you to get to the Leaky Cauldron and floo back to Hogwarts." Once he had received Harry's affirmation, he grabbed the scruff of Snuffles' neck and disappeared.

Harry moved back along the wall and into a shaded area. Hopefully the darkness would help mask his identity and keep people from looking to closely at him. As he waited for Remus to return, Harry went over what all he was going to say to Professor Dumbledore. He basically had to tell the man that he was out of a job permanently! He was so deep in thought that Remus calling his name from right in front of him caused him to jump.

"Are you ready Harry?" asked Remus as he held out his arm.

Harry sent him a nervous look and slowly nodded his head.

Remus gazed at Harry sympathetically and gently told him "Harry, don't stress yourself out so much. Professor Dumbledore will not be angry at you. He will most likely think it is the greatest adventure ever. He will be pleased that Hogwarts chose you to help fix the problems at the school, okay?"

Harry took a deep breath to calm himself down. Remus was right. He couldn't see the Professor getting mad at something that wasn't his fault due to such extenuating circumstances.

"Thanks Moony." Harry said with a grateful smile as he grabbed onto his arm. Both man and teenager then disappeared with a loud crack.


End file.
